--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was the one with the open wound, and…" description: "\"I was the one with the open wound, and the river waters turned red when I bathed in them. My sadness is greater than the heavens.\" — Laura Restrepo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/laura-restrepo-31162_heaven_i-was-the-one-with-the-open-wound-and-th_1820503.png" --- # I was the one with the open wound, and the river waters… ![“I was the one with the open wound, and the river waters turned red when I bathed in them. My sadness is greater than the heavens.” quote by Laura Restrepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/laura-restrepo-31162_heaven_i-was-the-one-with-the-open-wound-and-th_1820503.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/laura-restrepo-31162_heaven_i-was-the-one-with-the-open-wound-and-th_1820503.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/laura-restrepo-31162_heaven_i-was-the-one-with-the-open-wound-and-th_1820503.png) > “I was the one with the open wound, and the river waters turned red when I bathed in them. My sadness is greater than the heavens.” [Laura Restrepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-restrepo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intense personal pain is likened to a river turning red, suggesting sorrow overwhelming the world. **In simple terms:** Deep sadness feels world‑shaking. Key Takeaway Acknowledge pain but seek healing. Themes sorrow overwhelm metaphor Mood melancholic poetic Type literary emotional When to use this quote - grief counseling - art therapy - support groups Key Concepts emotional intensity literary imagery Questions to Reflect On - What does the red river symbolize for you? - How can you transform sorrow into growth? A Different Perspective Metaphors may exaggerate emotional states. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Red](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/red/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [Wounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounds/) ## Related quotes > [Language is a window into human nature, but it is also a fistula, an open wound through which we're exposed to an infectious world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/language-is-a-window-into-human-nature-but-it-is-also-a-fistula-an/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [When you have an open wound, it's festering and hurting constantly. Then it finally heals and then becomes a scar. 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You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warsan-shire/not-everyone-is-okay-with-living-like-an-open-wound-but-the-thing/) [Warsan Shire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warsan-shire/) > [“Love is an open wound that you hope never heals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-reisz/love-is-an-open-wound-that-you-hope-never-heals/) [Tiffany Reisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-reisz/) > [The past is an open wound, a life force busily shaping an increasingly bewildering present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/the-past-is-an-open-wound-a-life-force-busily-shaping-an-increasingly/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [“To open the wound To write in its blood―with its blood means your realisation through her― the feel of her absence, like a sail,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-saddiq-al-raddi/to-open-the-wound-to-write-in-its-blood-with-its-blood-means-your/) Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi > [“His presence was somehow a balm on the open wound of my heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasinda-wilder/his-presence-was-somehow-a-balm-on-the-open-wound-of-my-heart/) [Jasinda Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasinda-wilder/) > [“nothing feels quite so good as pouring salt in an open wound.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-blackwell/nothing-feels-quite-so-good-as-pouring-salt-in-an-open-wound/) [Tammy Blackwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-blackwell/) > [“My tats were but temporal attempts to heal my soul, as my heart remained an open wound.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-r-grey/my-tats-were-but-temporal-attempts-to-heal-my-soul-as-my-heart/) [S.R. 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Every time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-wolff/i-m-kind-of-like-an-open-wound-all-the-time-and-that-s-hard-it-s-hard/) [Alex Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-wolff/) > [For some, excavating the past isn’t an adventure, it’s more akin to tearing a Band-Aid off an open wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raquel-cepeda/for-some-excavating-the-past-isn-t-an-adventure-it-s-more-akin-to/) [Raquel Cepeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raquel-cepeda/) ## More by Laura Restrepo > [Collage is an important part of my everyday life. 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