The tattoo is a symbol of his father's Holocaust experience. During the Holocaust, any person imprisoned in the concentration camps was given a tattoo of a number. The number became who they were. After the Holocaust the tattoo, if seen, easily identified Holocaust survivors. It is representative of all the pain, suffering, and dehumanization that occurred during his father's life in the concentration camps.
The poem Tattoo by Greg Shapiro is about being a survivor. It was written about his father living through the holocaust.
The tattoo represents this experienced lived by his father in the Holocaust where any individual detained in the inhumane imprisonments was given a tattoo of a number.
