Bleeding Heart

I got back into painting again this week. Here is my latest creation. It's not my best work, and also not my preferred subject to paint, but for not painting for over a year it was a decent effort. There were a lot of "nots" in that sentence...I'm staying with my preceptor and his wife in Simcoe so the painting will be a gift to them from me for their hospitality. If I don't end up having a good time there, I'll just pick up a block of cheese for them in Simcoe and keep the painting for myself! haha. But I'm pretty sure that things will turn out well...he did win Preceptor of the Year.


I decided to look up how the plant came to be named "Bleeding Heart", but I haven't found anything substantial yet, other than the obvious resemblence of the flower to a heart. Then I decided to find other things related to "bleeding heart" and low and behold a plethora of poetry appeared. Interestingly, the definition of bleeding heart is: A person who is considered excessively sympathetic. Here is a sampling of how people interpret a bleeding heart, or his or her bleeding heart, through poetry. It's actually pretty depressing stuff so I'll try to make my next entry a happier one.

Bleeding Heart
by Linda M Hill

Bleeding Heart
Someone stop the pain.
Blood falls like the pouring
rain.
Crying - screaming- from
somewhere inside-
No where to run - no where
to hide.

Bleeding Heart
So cold - dark - and lonely.
Frozen dark pain - is all
I can see.
Melting deeper in a pit
of despair-
Oh God, why doesn't
anyone care?

Bleeding Heart
Open - raw - hurting - crying-
Something inside of me is
dying.
Can't stop the pain - it rages
on-
All will to live and love
is gone.

Crying - Screaming - from
somewhere inside-
I feel like so much of me has
died.


To Speak the Language of a Bleeding Heart…
by Dena L. Moore

To speak the language of a bleeding heart…
Crumpled papers falling,
Lightning-tight words flying
As if…
As if there were still hope
Of mending the open wound
With childlike wonder,
With wanton abandon and endless
Fascination with the way two bodies touch…

No, it can’t be so simple as that…
The wingless fae with a wand of spun gold
Could not chase the red river away.
Erect a dam, tend it well…as maybe, just maybe,
The flow of blood, the arching white-hot lance
Of pain may slow…a bit.

To speak the language of a bleeding heart…
Soft tears falling,
Gentle touches soothing
As if…
As if there were still hope
Of mending this bloody, open wound
With childlike wonder,
With love calmly given as two bodies touch
In fascination with the blood that still flows…


The Bleeding Heart
Written by Nolan Miller

I never knew a heart could bleed so much
and still sustain life
When you left I thought that
I would bleed to death
But then one day
I met this incredible woman who
Not only loved me back but incredibly
She loved me first

As each day passed I found that
I missed you less
Until one day I didn't miss you at all
With impeccable timing you chose that day
To make your dramatic reappearance
Saying "The biggest mistake I ever made
was to let you go!"

Oh no. The biggest mistake that you ever made
Was to think that I would ever take you back.