Not To The Manor Born

Author Donna Clementoni,
mining the resources of
history and hearsay,
pens a portrait of
her Italian-American relatives
in poetic tribute to their
immigration to America in search of
a better life for their families.
Their trials and tribulations
are recounted in
charming and colorful verse
as they assimilate into their new land,
move into its neighborhoods,
fight in its wars
and pursue the American Dream.

They were not to the manor born.
Intrinsically, they understood
that there are those
who lord over the land
and those who labor.
Immigrants from the Mezzogiorno,
Italy's poorest region south of Rome,
belonged to this less fortunate
fraternity.
These amazing pioneers,
out of sheer desperation
or fearless determination,
charted the course for
all their descendants to follow.