Editor, OBSERVER:
No greater place
in all the world
Chautauqua County
where my dog and I
sit curled.
Winters here conjure up
memories of cold wood smoke
small town faces
factories, fields, and drag races.
If Ralcorp was a man, instead of a corporation,
I would rip out his heart and eat it.
The Petri family recipe came from immigrants
and in the search for the American Dream
look what's happening to our towns.
I wouldn't eat Ralcorp's heart
I wouldn't feed it to my dog either
I would throw it to the field mice
show that heart what it feels like
to be gnawed on in the cold and dark
of a small town that doesn't have lobbyists
or super pacs
just picnics and families
and deer hunting gun racks
track and field race tracks
teamleader forest team packs
arts and craft show excitement panic attacks
I love this place
and I don't want it to get down on itself
or feel snarky
i want us all to take a corny
walk together in the park-y
let's fight the bad guys
and farm the good way
and be lights upon the world
in dark days.
LINDSAY MORRISON,
Forestville
