Pain, too, comes from depths that cannot be revealed. We do not know whether those depths are in ourselves or elsewhere, in a graveyard, in a scarcely dug grave, only recently inhabited by withered flesh. This truth, which is banal enough, unravels time and the face, holds up a mirror to me in which I cannot see myself without being overcome by a profound sadness that undermines one's whole being. The mirror has become the route through which my body reaches that state, in which it is crushed into the ground, digs a temporary grave, and allows itself to be drawn by the living roots that swarm beneath the stones. It is flattened beneath the weight of that immense sadness which few people have the privilege of knowing. So I avoid mirrors.

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About Tahar ben Jelloun

Tahar ben Jelloun was moroccan writer. Tahar Ben Jelloun is a Moroccan writer who rose to fame for his 1985 novel L'Enfant de sable. All of his work is written in French although his first language is Darija. Read more on Wikipedia →

Themes

  • Poetry — The art of language, rhythm, and emotional expression

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