What Would Diego Say?

by Marco Katz Montiel / April 12th, 2026

Why must Iryna’s mural be removed?
Her portrait would seem to have done no harm,
So what would it take to have it approved?

Were criminal stereotypes renewed?
Could that have led to such widespread alarm?
Why must Iryna’s mural be removed?

Was it about Musk, who some say has spewed
Hatred, or was it a call to disarm?
So what would it take to have it approved?

If funding from Ford never did obtrude
On a mural painted by Diego’s arm,
Why must Iryna’s mural be removed?

How did it happen that the critics booed
A youthful image with looks that can charm?
So what would it take to have it approved?

This specific victim cannot be viewed
Unless the artist stands up to the smarm.
Why must Iryna’s mural be removed?
And what would it take to have it approved?

Marco Katz Montiel composes poetry and prose in Spanish, English, and musical notes. He went to college late, and then alienated one university by publishing about bigotry on campus and got kicked to the curb by two others for his union activities. Still, Marco managed to graduate and even publish a book on music and literature with Palgrave. His essays, poems, and stories appear in Ploughshares, Jerry Jazz Music, English Studies in Latin America, Copihue Poetry, Camino Real, WestWard Quarterly, Lowestoft Chronicle, Dissident Voice, and in the anthologies Cartas de desamor y otras adicciones, There’s No Place, and the Capital City Press Anthology. Read other articles by Marco Katz, or visit Marco Katz's website.

This article was posted on Sunday, April 12th, 2026 at 8:00am and is filed under Poetry.