Contributor, Joy Cooper

I am from God.

I am from my mother

I am from her teachings, cookings & prayers

I am from her love

Her tough love.

I am from west africa

Where the fufu stick could mean a really good meal or a punishment.

I am from my mom working hard and me seeing her accomplishment.

I am from my siblings.

I am from everyone asking my mom if my sister & i are twins.

I am from hard times.

I am from loud gospel music on Sunday mornings

I am from His grace

Through which i was made.

I am from being broken

My heart played like a token

My smile is enough so words don’t have to be spoken.

My heart is gold

& holds stories that will one day be told

I am from me.

Bio:

My name is Joy Cooper. My pronouns are she, her, hers. I am a first year here at Augsburg. My major is Biology and my minor is Youth Studies. I started writing when I knew that I needed an outlet to express my emotions. I wrote this at the Oyatè Retreat in Fall 2019 while attending with the Pan-Afrikan Student Union.