In the Desert

Stephen Crane's short poem in which the speaker meets a naked, bestial creature in the desert, eating its own heart.

In the desertI saw a creature, naked, bestial,Who, squatting upon the ground,Held his heart in his hands,And ate of it.I said, “Is it good, friend?”“It is bitter—bitter,” he answered;“But I like it“Because it is bitter,“And because it is my heart.”

Famous lines

• In the desert
  I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
  Who, squatting upon the ground,
  Held his heart in his hands,
  And ate of it.
  I said, “Is it good, friend?”
  “It is bitter⁠—bitter,” he answered;
  “But I like it
  “Because it is bitter,
  “And because it is my heart.”

  In context

  • Emotion