Copper Woman

And Other Poems

Afua Cooper

• Publisher: Natural Heritage
• Year: 2007
• ISBN:
  9781770706354
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Canadian Poetry
• Index: Literature

Copper Woman and Other Poems is a collection of poems that announces a humanistic vision, dealing with such themes as rebirth (physical and symbolic), mythology, memory, bondage, blood, family, identities in flux, migration, politics and flights of fancy. The contents move back and forth between the past and the present, and project into the future, envisioning a new world/a new creation. The message that we are our brothers' and our sisters' keepers and that the earth is our home -- a home that we must protect and keep safe if we are to survive -- resonates throughout.

Copper Woman is a call to arms against apathy and all forms of tyranny. It is liberatory dub poetics that say equality and equity are possible and within reach. It invites its readers to cast off their chains and shackles and proclaim their freedom. It invites us all to grasp a greater vision of our world.

Jamaican-born Dr. Afua Cooper has achieved considerable success as a dub poet and as the author of a children's book, a collection of poetry and as co-author of The Underground Railroad: Next Stop, Toronto! Dr. Cooper is a recent recipient of the Harry Jerome Award for Professional Excellence.

PART I
BIRD OF PARADISE

BIRD OF PARADISE

At dawn my mother stands on the hill

behind our house

and invokes the sun to rise

then she goes to the outdoor kitchen

and prepares cassava bread and cocotea for our breakfast

My mother sells fruits and flowers in the market

stuff she grows with her own hands

she does not solicit customers

they come to her of their own volition

and at the end of each day

her items are all sold out

Now at age 42 my mother decides to stop having children

but not because her blood has ceased

“I have peopled the world with the numerous men

and women that my body has birthed,” she says

“Now it's time for me to birth other things”

When my mother's back and feet grow tired

so I anoint them with coconut oil

her feet a detailed map

her back the star apple tree outside our front door

My mother has never travelled abroad

but she knows tales of everyland

she says the flowers in her gardens

especially the ginger lily, orchids,

and the bird of paradise, bring her such tidings

My mother is short in stature

her children tower above her

some do not recognize her

or acknowledge her

as they pass by in the market

they are ashamed of this fruit and flower woman

this woman who fed them fish soup and roast breadfruit

that made them so strong

sometimes they mock her

“She looks like something out of a Rivera mural,” they jest

but my mother does not hear

her ears are beyond their words

In the evening when she grows weary

my mother sings lullabies to the sun to entice it to sleep

so the dark can come and we can be rejuvenated

“It's in the darkness that we grow strong,” she tells us

How wise she is

this woman with a life that no one can capture

how essential she is

this woman who makes gardens flower

and who feeds us milk and corn bread

I watch her as she descends the hill to the marketplace

her skirt at her knee

her black hair flecked with grey

AT THE CENTRE

Today doves flew from my head

and my hair grew

the longing is gone from my body

and I'm filled with peace, perfect peace

No longer shall I speak of electrocuted ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Part I: Bird of Paradise
• Part II: Copper Woman
• Part III: Biography
• Part IV: Africa Wailin
• Part V: Black Madonna
• About the Author