We Will Roar Like Tigers

Where in the history books do they talk about our last names?

In the mere paragraph about the genocide — our stories were not there. 

I want to rewrite all history books

to add this:

At the age of 1, a little boy lost his father to the Turks

who stabbed him and threw his body in the Euphrates River   —  

Եփրատ գետ (Yep’rat  get) 

He never knew his biological father and thus took after his stepfather;

Mr. Kaplanian raised him as his own.

The boy passed down scrapes of his story to his daughters — who now live 

in Armenia, Russia, France and the US

The story of Armenians; 

we are all over the world!

Which brings me to the story of his daughter

who moved to the US at the age of 38;

Took English classes and loved to bake,

and told me the story of her last name —

Kaplanian was her father's stepdad's last name

and now it is hers.

I said “Mom, what does Kaplan mean?”

She said “It means tiger.”

I like to think that when they try to erase our stories, our history, our names

we will roar like tigers