The Road to Heaven by Unknown Chinese Author

The Road to Heaven

My Child, hurry
Hold hold tightly to your Mother's hand.
The road to heaven
Is too dark
Mother is afraid
That you hit your head
Hurry,
Hold hold tightly to your Mother's hand
Let Mother walk with you

Mother
I am afraid
The road to heaven
Is too dark
I cannot see your hand
The wall collapsed
And snatched the sunlight away
I cannot see
The loving expression in your eyes again

My Child
You can go on ahead
The road before you
Has no sorrow anymore
It holds neither endless homework
Nor your father’s fist
You have to remember
My face and your father’s face
We want to walk this road together in our next life

Mother
Don't worry
The road to heaven is very crowded
But here are my classmates and friends
We all say
Don’t cry
Every mother is our mother as well
Every child, is our child as well
In the days without me
Give your love to the children who live

Mother
Don’t cry
Tears cannot light up the road
Our road
Let us walk slowly, Mother
I will remember your face and father’s face
I also want to walk this road together in our next life
--By Unknown Chinese Author, Translation adapted from Alex Tang and Blue Sky Tony

I wanted to post something about the earthquake we had today here in California. It was a 5.8 on the Richter scale, and pretty exciting and a little scary. There is no damage to our homes, and everyone is safe.

As I was searching for an earthquake poem, I stumbled across this one written by somebody in China after the SiChuan earthquake. I couldn't find an attribution (and neither could the New York Times). The best I can tell, it was first posted in English on this blog. The New York Times had a different translation, and since I fix awkward language in translations for a living, I thought it would be okay for me to cobble the best parts of the two together into my own version.

I hesitated about posting it, because it is so terribly sad. It's almost unbearable to think about the parents frantically trying to dig through the rubble of the schools where their only child was buried (and it's made even worse by knowing that almost all children in China are only children). At the same time, it's a beautiful poem. One brief moment in time capturing all the emotion, the regret, the hope, and the grief. This is what poetry is about. This is what it's for. This is why I love it so much.

On a lighter note, I thought that a good way to share our experience of the earthquake would be to share my answers to the Did You Feel It? questionnaire on the USGS site. I really like that site because the computers that are monitoring the seismographs post information (like location and magnitude) about the Earthquake immediately, so you don't have to wait for news outlets to find the information and write a story. I also like how they have a map of the intensity ratings that the internet survey gives them. For a quake like this, they can have several hundred thousand surveys filled out, submitted and analyzed within hours of the event. Each survey also has a space for personal stories that can be read later. I think this is a FABULOUS way to get scientific data from the people directly affected immediately after an event happens when the experience is most clear in their minds. I wonder if there's a way to take this model and apply it to other events (like hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, rock concerts, News stories like 9-11 etc).

Anyway, here's the survey and my answers:

Your location when the earthquake occurred:

Street Address: 8882 Bainford Dr

Nearest Cross Street: Magnolia and Adams

City: Huntington Beach

County: Orange

State/Possession: California

Country: United States

*Zip code: 92646

While answering all these questions is optional, we encourage you to fill out as many as possible so we can provide a more accurate intensity estimate.

What was your situation during the earthquake?

No answer

X Inside

Outside

In stopped vehicle

In moving vehicle

Other

If you were inside please select the type of building or structure:

No building

X Single Family Home or Duplex

Apartment Building

Office Building/School

Mobile Home with Permanent Foundation

Trailer or Recr. Vehicle with No Foundation

Other

If other, please describe:

Were you asleep during the earthquake?

X No

Slept through it

Woke up

Did you feel the earthquake? (If you were asleep, did the earthquake wake you up?)

No

X Yes

Did others nearby feel the earthquake?

No answer/Don't know/Nobody else nearby

No others felt it

Some felt it, but most did not

Most others felt it, but some did not

X Everyone or almost everyone felt it

Your experience of the earthquake:

How would you best describe the ground shaking?

No description

Not felt

Weak

Mild

Moderate

X Strong

Violent

About how many seconds did the shaking last?

15-20

How would you best describe your reaction?

No answer/Don't remember

No reaction/Not felt

Very little reaction

Excitement

X Somewhat frightened

Very frightened

Extremely frightened

How did you respond? (Select one)

No answer/Don't remember

XTook no action

Moved to doorway

Dropped and covered

Ran outside

Other

If other, please describe:

Was it difficult to stand or walk?

X No answer/Did not try

No

Yes

Earthquake effects:

Did you notice the swinging/swaying of doors or hanging objects?

No answer/Did not look

No

X Yes, slight swinging

Yes, violent swinging

Did you notice creaking or other noises?

No answer/Did not pay attention

No

Yes, slight noise

X Yes, loud noise

Did objects rattle, topple over, or fall off shelves?

No answer/No shelves

No

Rattled slightly

X Rattled loudly

A few toppled or fell off

Many fell off

Nearly everything fell off

Did pictures on walls move or get knocked askew?

No answer/No pictures

No

X Yes, but did not fall

Yes, and some fell

Did any furniture or appliances slide, tip over, or become displaced?

No answer/No furniture

X No

Yes

Was a heavy appliance (refrigerator or range) affected?

No answer/No heavy appliance

X No

Yes, some contents fell out

Yes, shifted by inches

Yes, shifted by a foot or more

Yes, overturned

Were free-standing walls or fences damaged?

No answer/No walls

X No

Yes, some were cracked

Yes, some partially fell

Yes, some fell completely

If you were inside, was there any damage to the building? Check all that apply.

X No damage

Hairline cracks in walls

A few large cracks in walls

Many large cracks in walls

Ceiling tiles or lighting fixtures fell

Cracks in chimney

One or several cracked windows

Many windows cracked or some broken out

Masonry fell from block or brick wall(s)

Old chimney, major damage or fell down

Modern chimney, major damage or fell down

Outside wall(s) tilted over or collapsed completely

Separation of porch, balcony, or other addition from building

Building permanently shifted over foundation

If you know the type of building (wood, brick, etc.) and/or your location (which story, basement, penthouse, etc.) please indicate here:

ground floor of frame house

Additional Comments:

I heard what sounded like loud wind coming from the east side of the house, and expected a tiny shake when the gust hit the house and chimney, only, it wasn't wind. The whole house shook in a generally east to west pattern for a long time -- like we kept getting hit by ripples in a pond. I was worried that things would fall off the shelves, but Grandpa had secured the more precious nick-nacks long ago. His model airplanes that hang from the ceiling swayed violently, and the pendulum on the cuckoo clock and Grandfather Clock stopped ticking (I had to restart them when the earthquake was over. Grandma was dozing off, but woke up and was a little frightened. We were surprised at how long it lasted, and had time to comment to each other about that while it was still happening. We thought about taking cover, but since standing is so tough for Grandma, we just stayed put. We had time to comment on how long it was lasting a couple of times. My baby looked a bit confused while it was happening, but quickly forgot about it once it was over.