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."
The prolific Stephen Crane (along with poets such as Blake and Milton) is an inspiration to many writers such as myself. His style is dark, but the kind of dark that makes you see this world for what it is. I was watching 'The Crow - Wicked Prayer' recently, and the movie ends with The Crow reciting these words over the body of his last victim after having just avenged the death of his bride to be. Though the movie was crap, these words stuck out and in that moment raptured me in a way that I haven't felt since I read 'The Poison Tree' for the first time. So I thought I'd share it with you.