"It is bitter -- bitter," he answered; "But I like it."

[ source ]

From Stephen Crane's The Black Riders and Other Lines:

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."


See also: http://cnx.org/content/m29214/latest/