Hi,

check out Stephen crane poems . It is avaliable in americanpoems.com . A good site for everything. I found his poem very simple in its expression and form.
thanks
stem

So ... what do you think he means by this one?:


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."

I don't know what it means, but it made Hannibal Lectur's top ten.


Les

It rubs the lotion on its skin
or else it gets the hose again.

What this creature is, but i liked the poem for its simplistic structure
stem

It could be about living off your emotions.
The animal nature of emotions. To feed off emotions is often a bitter experience, and yet one indulges because ... perhaps because being emotional is a nice self indulgent feeling (yawn). "In a desert" -refers to the a heartless world (double yawn). "Naked" refers to the vulnerability and exposure of being emotional. "It is my heart" has the sense of killing yourself to survive off yourself.
One can read anything into anything and I'm just reading. But you are right, (Hello, fellow Bangalorean - are you next door?) - more than structure (It does not scan, does it Hugh?) - i think he achieves a striking visual, which is quite difficult to do.



Post Edited (05-23-05 04:55)

It could also mean "eat your heart out", meaning, 'sit there and lust, you bastard, beast"; some people seem to feed on their envy, their pain; masochistic beats of envy - and they like it; succcess fearing types lusting over their dreams, because dreams, like instant replay, never disappoint...

E.

Well, obviously there was no such creature and it would be impossible to consume one's own heart anyway, so we have to infer Crane is speaking metaphorically.

Let's say the heart is the bestial creature's life. The creature (Crane) reflects upon his existence so far. He finds it has been bitter, but at least it is superior to no life at all.

No, it isn't much for scan althouth the rhythm is not too bad. How about this one:


A man said to the universe:
“Sir I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe,
“The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.”


A take-off on Descartes perhaps?

I take it to mean that self-destructive behavior can be addictive.

How about this one:
If you ask as in the sense of its meaning, then i think it could refer to self importance of man/woman at the individual level as compared to his/her insignificance in the really large scheme of things. (Uf. My brain just sprained.)

But, it is true: At one level, nobody or nothing really owes you anything.

A very lonely thought.



Post Edited (05-25-05 05:12)

Now i clearly got the gist of the poem. (hi bangalorean, in any case i am not sitting near u, becoz i am surfing from my home cheers)thanks for all the observations.
stem