“The just man takes care of the beast,

But the heart of the wicked is merciless.”

The Holy Bible

Proverbs 12:10

Thousands were left behind in Hurricane Katrina

Some were callously tossed off the evacuation bus

Many of them were left stranded on flooded rooftops

And all of this animal cruelty should truly shame all of us

Yet somehow many of them managed to survive on their own

Somehow existing on trash and tossed food scraps in New Orleans

But even if so many of we humans truly do not care if they live or die

Why in God’s name must we always be so viciously savage and mean

These discarded starving left behind pathetic creatures

Are now being savagely hunted down poisoned and shot

Human animals are one of the few species on this entire planet

Who will kill for the hell of it and to whom life doesn’t mean a lot

Are we really beings created in the image of a loving Supreme Being

Are we to believe that we were anointed to be the caretakers of this earth

Or are we simply vile blood-thirsty selfish and extremely callous creatures

Because murdering our earthly neighbors should not fill any of us with mirth

This ‘left behind’ cat managed to survive into the new year on his own

Never once asking any of us to pity him or to take him under our wings

Yet some vicious self-centered human decided to shoot him with an arrow

And I have to wonder what kind of sick pleasure to this person killing brings

This gentle cat was found lying in a gutter in New Orleans in early January

With someone’s bloody arrow protruding through his emaciated furry chest

Despite compassionate emergency surgery sweet little Max recently died

And I find myself contemplating the nobility of mankind with very little zest

While many of us were trying to save them down in New Orleans

Dozens more of these felines were found poisoned with antifreeze

Many dogs that we have found have been viciously shot to death

And this sadly – is just the beginning - of man’s latest killing spree

These days we seem to care very little
About other life forms on our planet
And I sadly mourn our loss of reverence
Since life should never be taken for granted

And it seems I spend my days and nights

Pondering one human cruelty after another

It seems that I can no longer find any peace

Witnessing the sheer savagery of my brothers

©2006, Ed Kostro

www.projectsaveapet.com