An unordinary shape
For unordinary people
With pep in their step
And nowhere near feeble.
For they may be weird
But they’re damn sure proud of it.
In fact, prepare your ears
Cuz you’ll surely hear ‘bout it.
Whether you have a farm in the East
Or live on the river out West,
We’re all Pepin people!
The certified best!

At eye level, the breaking waves
Reveal squawking hawks
Reeling for cod
That lurk beneath
Above the reefs.

Below the foamy surface
Shy turtles dance with the weeds
And crawdads weave sunny threads,
But even more magic lies beneath.

Even further,
Crystals live
In a cave far down below,
Hidden from the thieving eyes
Belonging to the unenrolled.

Even the rivers
Can’t stand
This close to heaven.
Their currents fall
Toward the core
Bruising and smoothing
Rock along the way,
Testing roots’ strength,
And pounding
The hardened earth
Below.
Always rushing,
These falling waters,
Toward their lower home.

Here on the square
We run circles
In play
Bouncing from bar to bar
And place to place.
Losing ourselves,
We kick our feet
If to say:
“We have nowhere to be
Except for here,
Today.”

After piles of pretzels
And barrels of beer,
We cap our tough day
With a mind clear
Intent on relaxing
After our tough day—
Finding ourselves at Rusty’s
To push our cares away
From our tough day on the square.

Frozen in concrete
Is life
And art
Forever confined
To a box
In northern Wisconsin.
Come
Witness
Frogs frozen
And encased elephant thrills,
Dogs’ paws paused
And banners waving still.
All these wonders,
Never to leave.

But you must come here
And risk
Being frozen here, too.