They must endure
the twin hardships
of hunger and cold,
their home the frozen
tundra.
They often starve
when game is scarce
and the hunt
has gone badly.
And if these sufferings
were not enough,
many of their kind are
shot,
scarlet blood
staining
the stark whiteness of snow.
They are hated-
deemed as useless
-but
they are-
FREE.