Mudita

by Gerard Sarnat

Few bad hours,

rattled by our

tons of petty

post Covid

decrepit

aging home junk

gotta fix gone

wrong, usual

rose-colored

glasses half

full positive attitude

gone a bit haywire,

suddenly helps

Ger observe

himself to

have immense

gratitude now

for how very

lucky most

days seem

feeling

soooo fine

-- but when

not, my skin’s

just toooo thin

which helps you

to understand

how black

at times it

could get

for people

who never

know from

one minute

to dicey next

if chronic

infirmities

or disabilities

act up to ruin

moods…as I try

hard to put me

in loving position

to look through other

folks’ eyes with compassion,

equanimity to be in their shoes.

“Mudita” is a Pali word for the Buddhist concept of empathy.

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Gerard Sarnat, MD, has won San Francisco Poetry’s 2020 Contest and Poetry in Arts First Place Award/Dorfman Prizes. He has published in Buddhist Poetry Review, NY Times, among many others, as well as by Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth, Penn, Chicago, and Columbia presses. A Stanford professor/healthcare CEO, Gerry has built/staffed clinics for the marginalized, devoted energy/resources toward climate justice on Climate-Action-Now’s board. Married since 1969, Gerry has nine grand/kids.