Poetry. Epiphany, by Gerard Sarnat. Image: a man jumps off a cliff, leaving his wheelchair behind.

Epiphany

[not in the sense manifestation of Christ

to Gentiles as represented by Magi (Matthew 2:1-12]

Despite Jewish law’s

at least soft prohibition

as a physician plus human

I’ve been all-in about end of life

thoughtful autonomy for those of us

who are considered to have terminal ills.

But since around block witness to state-certified

self-administered new-fangled cocktail maybe you prefer

tried-‘n-true Nordic exhilaration awe-oh-whee! Gerardo jumps off cliff

(if when time comes am still able—or otherwise helpful little shove from friends)?

Gerard Sarnat

Late-phase often graphic poet arrived in seventh decade, aphorist, humorist or sometimes meanderist; Gerard Sarnat’s a multiple Pushcart/Best of Net Award nominee. Activism Through Poetry: How Gerard Sarnat Uses Verse as a Form of Protest is a 2025 retrospective.

 

His words have been widely published in four collections; by Rattle, London Arts-Based Research Centre, Israel Association of Writers in English, Brooklyn Review, Tokyo Poetry Journal, St. John’s University, Northwestern, Yale, Pomona, Harvard, Missouri Baptist, Stanford, Dartmouth, Penn, Columbia, Grinnell, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Brown, North Dakota, CUNY, McMaster, Maine, British Columbia/Toronto/Chicago, Virginia and Alabama university presses — and more.

 

He’s a Harvard Medical School-trained physician, Stanford professor, healthcare CEO. Currently, he’s devoting energy and resources to dealing with climate justice, serving on Climate Action Now’s board. Sarnat’s belonged to the longest-running U.S. Jewish-Palestinian Dialogue Group. Gerry’s been married since 1969 and has three kids, six grandsons — and looks forward to future granddaughters.

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