In the desert I saw a creature, naked, bestial, Who, squatting upon the ground, Held his heart in his hands, And ate of it.
“But I like it “Because it is bitter, “And because it is my heart.” "In the Desert"[1] is the name given to a poem written by Stephen Crane (1871–1900), published in 1895 as a part of his collection, The Black Riders and Other Lines.
The poem is only ten lines and briefly describes an interaction between the speaker and "creature, naked, bestial" encountered "in the desert", eating his heart.
[3] "In the Desert" presents an ambiguous state of mind, but affirms a stance toward God and the Universe.
[5] Max Cavitch writes, that "In the Desert" is well-deserving of a permanent place in American literature along with Crane's The Black Riders.