Language that faces the wound

The person who quietly covers their wounds
eventually rots from within.

Only by digging into the depths of the most painful memory
does real language finally raise its head.

In the silence that others turn away from
lies the truth that can shake the world.

From the moment you face your pain head-on
a fragile life becomes a solid sentence.

In the end, the strength to endure great tragedy
comes from a gaze that doesn't look away
and watches until the very end.

-- Novelist Han Kang