My German teacher was a man of classical music, a man of poetry, and a man who always smelled like milk. At the start of the second year of learning German, he said that every man or woman worth their salt knows at least one poem by heart. So he gave us a poem. Every class he'd pick out one random person to recite it, followed by a class recitation. That class was nine years ago, yet I can still recite Das Fraulein Stand am Meere flawlessly.
Here's Google Translate's translation. What do you think of it? The Mistress Stood by the Sea The mistress stood by the sea And sighed long and afraid, It touched her so The sunset. My girl! be merry, That is an old piece; Down here she goes below And returns from behind.
Not bad! Fraulein literally means 'miss', a dimunitive of frau which means 'lady'. Mistress might be too pejorative. I'd translate it like this: The young lady stood by the sea And sighed long and weary, It touched her so much, the sunset. 'My lady! Worry not, it's just an old thing Before you she goes under And will return from behind.