What's in my Name

My mom said the saddest thing tonight
We talked about our last name and how we hated it
I said it was because the syllables were too harsh
It never flowed with my first
I kept in how in middle school
Kids would hear -berg and know "Jew"
And that was never safe
How it's been 13 years and the desire to hide from that pain never left
Instead I said I wanted her maiden name
But to drop the -men because it sounded better
She was quiet a minute before she replied
"My father did that on dinner reservations when I was a kid
Because it was never safe