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Because it is bitter, and because it is my heart

·1 min

Because sometimes news items make me think of poetry: here’s a news story on a forlorn lover leaving a ring for someone else.

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, from “The Black Riders”

And because I like juxtaposition: above is a photo of Jim Dine’s “Twin 6’ Hearts”, a work in bronze from the Montreal Musee des Beaux Arts (of which I’ll say more another day).