You Could Never Take A Car to Greenland,

By Maggie Smith

my daughter says. Unless the car could float.

Unless by car you mean boat. Unless the ocean

turned to ice and promised not to crack.

Unless Greenland floated over here,

having lifted its anchor. Unless we could row

our country there. Our whole continent

would have to come along, wouldn't it? Unless

we cut ourselves free. What kind of saw

could we use for that? What kind of oars

could deliver one country to another?

She asks, Why is Greenland called Greenland

if it’s not green? Why is Iceland called

Iceland if it’s greener than Greenland?

Unless it’s a trick, a lie: the name Greenland

is an ad for Greenland. Who would go

promised nothing but ice? Who would cut

her home to pieces and row away for that?

Copyright Credit: Maggie Smith, "You Could Never Take a Car to Greenland" from Good Bones. Copyright © 2017 by Maggie Smith. Reprinted by permission of Tupelo Press.