Stray Justice

for Kensington and the person who named this cat
(Kensington Market, Toronto)

“By the late period of ancient Egyptian history, the cat was a sacred animal. Anyone who killed a cat could be punished by death.” – James Putman, Mummy

Jesse Power gets 90 days
and Anthony Wennekers gets to walk

Power and Wennekers took a stray cat
and hung it from a cord

Then, while they videotaped,
they proceeded to mutilate the cat
poking out its eyes,
tearing its ears off with pliers,
skinning it and cutting open its belly
to expose its stomach and intestines
while it screamed and writhed in pain

The honourable judge
Edward Ormston
claimed he could not bring himself
to impose the maximum two-and-half-year sentence
because, “there are worse ways that
this cat could have died.”

One is hard-pressed to imagine
what worse ways
Someone ought to seriously consider
keeping this judge away from cats

The lives of animals are still considered cheap
in this society

To society and the judge
you became the cat torture case
you became an it

Yet

One person named you Kensington
She sought justice

They referred to you as just a stray
in my heart the terror will stay*

*“Stray Justice” is a found poem. The first six stanzas are excerpts from Doug Draper’s news story by the same name in View (Hamilton) April 25-May 1, 2002.