Ladsonian Sonnet #1

By Etta Mae Ladson

My sovereignty is written, you are book,

My sentences, complex, declarative,

To understand Me, history must look

At Africa, My epic narrative.

I am your author God, supreme spellbinder,

Your story in the earth is controversy,

The poetry of people gentler, kinder,

You are My metaphor of grace and mercy;

Your page is Once-upon-a-time, first shrouded

With wicked oceans, queens who nearly drown,

With villains and with victories is crowded

Before My high noon End and strange land crown;

The Lord, your mother God, My expertise

Has written Africa a masterpiece.

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Etta May Ladson is the holder of three degrees, B.A. & M.A. in English from Hunter College of the City University of New York, and the M.P.S degree in Religious Education from New York Theological Seminary. She is the recipient of many awards, including citations by the State and City governments of New York.

An advocate for public education, she is a 30-year veteran of the classroom, having served as Teacher of English, Chair of English and Assistant Principal, English. She served in the National Teacher Corp at the University of Southern Illinois and has taught at Brooklyn College and Queens College of the City University. She lectures widely on religious and educational themes.

A community activist, she is the founder and director of the African Christian Teachers, a nonprofit private foundation servicing gifted youngsters in the public school, General Partner in The Golden Bowl, an investment group servicing minority seniors, and CEO at Jewelgate, the umbrella enterprise for all her activities.