All of a sudden we lost our most beloved

Oh the humanity. Now Haiti, but how many times has fate befallen the most vulnerable amongst us. So far this century, the Sumatran tsunami, earthquakes in Kashmir, Iran and Sichuan, China to name but a few. The following poem by Zhao Bo, published in the Chinese press after the Wenchuan, Sichuan quake in 2008 speaks the universal language of unfathomable sorrow and suffering that victims of natural disasters all face.

All of a sudden we lost our most beloved
-- Zhao Bo

All of a sudden we lost our most beloved
Becoming orphans,
We find above our heads all dark
Our world is changed
No one can answer what we ask
Our family, our beloved,
Your words yesterday still warm our hearts
We cannot understand what is happening,
and nature's cold-blood
We cannot live without you,
but reality is that we had to part
and now you are so very far away,
Can you still remember the happy days in our small yard
Wailing and crying,
We beg you not to leave us in the dark
We want to find you
However, one second, one minute, one hour passes
You cannot reply,
but we know you want to get back to us
You saved us, giving away your own life,
Until we were once again pulled out
Strong rays bring hopes
Are you praying for us, dear Mom
But how can you leave us to strangers, dear Mom
One day, two days, they say you will never be back, dear Mom
We promise not to annoy you anymore,
please don't go away, dear Mom
We are your children all our lives,
and we are missing you so much, dear Mom.