oh cruel a cat’s life
bound to relive
the harshest crimes
nine times over.
no respite
among park benches,
no loving paws of
caress
to end this repetition,
strike upon strike
of haunted hands
on frightened faces,
the grim grime of
dirt and blood
cemented into our
minds for nine more
lives to come.

oh cruel a cat’s life
helpless in time
of dire need,
claws prostrate
to tearing out eyes,
eyes, brimming
with loathing,
with murder.
declawed, untoothed,
we hung our heads
in horror
and softly sung her home.

oh cruel a cat’s life
circling nine rounds
of hell on earth.
castrated, finding her fear,
wondering why necks
turn purple,
how he could leave her
here –

oh a cat’s life is cruel
a sick joke on sanity
licking old wounds
for want of normality,
for 6am, a cooing voice
and the promise of
nine lives of clarity.

04/01/22

Paulina Dembska was brutally raped and murdered on 2nd January 2022 at around 6am, while she went to feed the cats at Ġnien l-Indipendenza in Sliema. She was a regular cat-feeder and lover of cats, and had no prior connection to her murderer. She was killed because she was a woman, alone in the early hours of Sunday morning. Paulina’s murder is the latest in a series of femicides and gender-based violent episodes in Malta.

Say her name. Paulina will not be forgotten.