Figure 1 – Bleeding Hearts, Sudbury, MA. (c) DE Wolf 2021.

It is hot. Rapidly spring is becoming summer. But let us dwell a while and consider the “Bleeding Hearts” of Figure 1. These, ever so feminine flowers, are so delicate and, yes, cardioid in shape. Suddenly college and The Calculus are remembered. 

You can take a deep breath and consider the origin of the term a “bleeding heart.” Christ is wounded in the heart and bleeds for the world. This was the original meaning. In the mid-twentieth century, conservative columnist and hater Westbrook Pegler remade the phrase when he talked about “bleeding heart liberals.”  The right continues the tradition. the phrase has become a meaningless trope. I am proud to be one and I prefer to side with Mahatma Gandhi on this, which of course returns us to the original meaning.

“My austerities, fasting and prayers are, I know, of no value if I rely upon them for reforming me. My penance is the prayer of a bleeding heart for forgiveness for sins unwittingly committed.”