A few select poems by Mary Ann Niemczura, PhD, from her book, A Past Worth Telling:

Our Second Family

There was always
A terrific noon meal
Ready and waiting
When I returned

From teaching in
The Comprehensive
School in Neresheim.
Hilde made a hot soup,

Meat, and tasty
Swabian Spaetzle.
She loved our two
Children as her own.

We shared in
Family celebrations
And became immersed
In German culture.

Never Again

The new year found
Me teaching in Germany.
Fond of using their
Dialects, the students

Thought I would not
Understand their
Swear words
Forbidden in class.

One bold seventh
Grade boy spewed forth
A streak of vulgarity.
Imagine his utter shock

When I responded with a
Stern warning in German.
His face turned many
Shades of brilliant crimson.

My Little Native Speakers

Learning a foreign language
At an early age is
Child's play and
Very natural.

In two short months
Our daughter learned
The German language.
She adjusted to her

New surroundings in
The German village
And became confident.
No one suspected that

She was an American.
Young minds are like
Sponges absorbing
The language.

Learn more at:

http://bookstore.abbottpress.com/Products/SKU-000689831/A-Past-Worth-Tel...

About the author

Mary Ann Niemczura was born in Massachusetts and reared in Colorado but lives in Upstate New York. A consummate professional with a passion for teaching, she has taught German for 47 years and also taught in Germany as a Fulbright exchange teacher. She is married and has two children.