A Blank Verse Converse

by Marco Katz Montiel / May 11th, 2025

Believe it or not, he remains locked up.
I mean Kilmar Abrego García,
By all accounts an innocent person.
And he is by no means the only one
Still in need of our constant attention.

Kids like Margarita Prokopenko—

Imprisoned—and Aisha Kachalla,
Deserve to be with their loving families
Soon, or they too might just run out of time.

Marco Katz Montiel, erstwhile salsa trombonist, composes prose and poetry in Spanish, English, and musical notes. His essay about the great Peruvian Nikkei poet José Watanabe appears in the Fall 2022 issue of Ploughshares. His own recently published verses include “A.I. Can Write Poetry, but Struggles with Math” in WestWard Quarterly, “Descarga del año viejo” and “Adiós València” in Copihue Poetry, and a pair of fortnightly contributions to Dissident Voice. In daily yoga practice, he chants Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu, a prayer for universal happiness and freedom. Read other articles by Marco Katz, or visit Marco Katz's website.

This article was posted on Sunday, May 11th, 2025 at 8:00am and is filed under Poetry.