YOU ARE LIFE

An affirmation for Asian American youth.

Scenes of outstretched hands reaching for one another and an Asian parent gardening with a child greet readers. “You are life,” opens the poem, going on to add, “You are not a virus. / You are a seed. When you were born, / you saved me.” Above an apartment window, an expectant couple waits in anticipation as the text reads, “You are not forever foreign. / You are Immigrant. / Born here. / Adopted. / Refugee, you fled a war.” Li layers lines, blocks, and shapes of colors to create eye-popping fields filled with noodles, onigiri, and children. After touching on a myriad of interests and cultural references, the tone becomes more rousing, challenging model minority stereotypes and insisting that “You are not invisible. / You are not silent. / You are hand-painted signs, / people marching together in the street / for a more just world.” The paths paved by ancestors are also acknowledged. As Phi discusses the silly, the funny, the serious, and the inspiring, the overarching, stirring message is that the possibilities for the future are endless. In an author’s note, Phi reveals the verses were written in response to the recent rise of anti-Asian hate. Asian children take center stage, and Vietnamese is incorporated in the poem; kids of other ethnic backgrounds are also depicted, and characters vary in terms of ability. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A sweet and empowering poem.