Onions

[ara baliozian]

ONIONS

********************

African-Americans speak of oreos

(black on the outside, white on the inside),

Chinese-Americans speak of bananas,

West-Indians speak of coconuts,

and I say Armenians are onions.

In the Ottoman Empire we were Ottomanized,

in the Soviet Union we were Sovietized,

and in America we are being Americanized.

How to you Americanize

an Ottomanized or Sovietized or Stalinized Armenian?

You don’t. You simply add a thin layer or mask

that says: “I believe in democracy,

human rights and free speech!”

as the Sovietized layer adds:

“But only for those who agree with me!”

and as the Ottomanized layer hisses:

“Massacre the s.o.b. who dares

to disagrees! -- even if it’s only verbally.”

Hence Zarian’s celebrated dictum:

“Sharper than a Turk’s yataghan is an Armenian’s tongue.”

But Zarian also said:

“Armenians survive by cannibalizing one another.”

Which may suggest the existence of still other layers.