Oh, little town of Freedom,
home of the Apple Festival!

only no one can remember 
what exactly happened to the last local orchard,
but you can buy Michigan apples in pecks from the Mennonites or
a caramel apple for eight bucks,
wrap-around sunglasses, a hunting knife, 
a lemonade shake-up (dry county)

a few years ago
a recruit fresh from boot camp
bought a rainbow flag
from the purple-haired vendor (neighboring county)
then burned it in the parking lot of City Hall
near the replica of the Liberty Bell

the local weekly
chose not to publish any pictures of the flag in flames,
but fair-haired Miss Casey County 
and the state’s largest apple pie
sold more papers