C4SO is committed to more fully cooperating with the vision of racial and ethnic diversity in Revelation 7:9, so amplifying the voices of our Asian American brothers and sisters is a step toward this Kingdom vision. This May, during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we will provide opportunities for deeper learning, reflection and conversation as we begin to experience the beauty of God’s desire for diversity amongst his people. C4SO is pleased to feature Shin Maeng, an artist and illustrator whose style is influenced by urban art and manga, while the content of his drawings highlights his Christian faith. We also feature author and artist Sarah Shin, whose poetry explores themes of lament in response to acts of violence and hatred against Asian Americans.

Today, the sixth Sunday in Eastertide, we contemplate an image Shin created in response to Sarah’s poem grieving the impact of racial violence on parents and children of color.

Week 3 Artwork: All the Love I Have to Give

by Shin Maeng

Poem: Until There Is No Salt Left

By Sarah Shin

I knew I could never be black like Malcolm
Though Cone said I could become black like him.

But the land of southern trees
Seems to multiply its roots and strange fruit
And hang new pinatas that serve as batting practice
For those who want new bodies
To bury old ghosts and hates.
Will there be anyone left when the nightmare ends?

Maybe if I pour all the love I have to give
Into my daughter’s tender heart
She’ll have infinity pools for reservoirs
That will still have enough despite those that use her as target practice.
Or maybe it’ll form an armor so thick and bound together by the love
Of aunties and uncles, dark-skinned and light
Who will feed her tired and weary soul
Bringing food like ravens in desert flights
To try again.

What is a mother to do?
Raise her to expect a new dawn
Or to be jaded so thoroughly beyond the possibility of disappointment
Beyond risking anything tender or vulnerable
Or real?

Her eyes light up as they meet mine
Full of laughter as I kiss her brow
And swallow the tears
That stream from my heart.

Is it possible to cry until there is no salt left?
Maybe a river of life will flow from me instead.

Hope without tears is saccharin sweet—
Empty calories, empty words
No food to share with others.
And tears without hope a bitter drink
Connected to ball-chains old and older.

The mothers and fathers who longed and sang
For the river Jordan—
Their tears and prayers and holy hands
As dark as Abraham’s night sky and brilliant with his stars
Fed their children the bread of life
And their children’s children the sweetest tea
So they always knew what was real communion.

May your cup never be empty.

To participate in C4SO’s celebration of AAPI Heritage Month, follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter.

Shin Maeng resides in St. Andrews Scotland. He grew up in Bridgewater, NJ, New Haven, CT and Cambridge, MA. He is married to Sarah and has a wee lass. Shin loves to create on his iPad and also loves to get his hands dirty. He has a Masters of Urban Leadership from GCTS Boston. Music, cities, stories, Marvel comics, dancing, most things on YouTube, food,  justice and the movement of God’s hand are a few things that inspire Shin to create. Learn more about Shin.

Sarah Shin is a speaker and trainer in ethnicity, evangelism, and the arts, and she is the author of Beyond Colorblind. A fine artist and painter, Sarah has a master’s degree in theology from Gordon-Cromwell Theological Seminary and a master’s degree in city planning and development from MIT. She is continuing her theological studies as a PhD student at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Previously, Sarah served as associate national director of evangelism for InterVarsity. Before serving in that position, she was an area director in Boston and a regional coordinator of multiethnicity. She and her husband live in Saint Andrews, Scotland, with their daughter. Follow Sarah on Twitter: @SarahShinAuthor.