Leaky Hearts

Julia Kristeva says the female body is leaky and uncontained
my doctor says my heart is leaky too
regurgitating to be exact

Invoking exactly what Kristeva points to
something disgusting about the female body

leaky
regurgitating
uncontained
blood
love

The latter I would argue is a gift
love should at least leak out
if you are not willing or able to let it pour

Let it leak and leak and leak
and drop by drop
nourish your friends and family

Here’s a toast to leaky hearts
let us leak our love until we can leak no more

We are here

Dearly beloved
we have gathered here today
for no fucking reason

We are here by chance
and choice
but it doesn’t really matter

We are here to waste time
and call it self-care

We are here to not look too closely
to not be too careful
and call it living

Regardless
we are here
and there’s snacks in the back

Selvi M Bunce (she/her/they) is a Tamil-American poet and editor who is passionate about liberation for all. Selvi enjoys both academic and creative writing and has published work with Poetry Ireland Review, Mixed Mag, Brown Girl Magazine, the Rights Collective, and Academic Impressions. Her first book NAKED: The Honest Musings of 2 Brown Women, a poetry collection co-authored by Mimi Mutesa, was published by Black Spring Press Group in 2022.