“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."”

—  Stephen Crane , book The Black Riders and Other Lines

Source: The Black Riders and Other Lines (1895), III

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Stephen Crane 42
American novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist 1871–1900

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