Opium, Fresh Milk And Strong Shoes Poem by Karl Stuart Kline

Opium, fresh milk and strong shoes would do
For the mountain fighters of bygone times.
A hard life breeds hard men – that’s nothing new
And Mountain Men who know that, live hard lives

Modern times mean little on ancient trails
That have been there longer than anyone
Can even remember, but they tell tales
Of would be conquerors that were broken

By the defenders who they seldom saw,
Unwelcome as they traveled untamed lands,
Missing unmarked trails that they never saw,
Seeing naught of the land but rocks and sand.

They miss the point, because they cannot see
These are people who truly do live free.