A couple of ounces

A couple of ounces ruled your life!
no loyal dog or faithful wife,
sometimes the brutal Siberian air
was the only thing there;
a few white lies
could make it hard to categorize
all the frozen finger tips,
the stiff upper lips,
and shuffling feet
plodding over an forlorn prison yard street:
a vast expanse of squeaking snow and ice.
no four-legged rats or healthy field mice;
hardly anything of substance to eat or drink;
no time to truly think
while being strip-searched like a lonely feral child,
punished for being alive and running wild.
A couple of ounces ruled your life!
a small piece of thin bread without the knife.