Nuuk In Greenland Poem by jan hansen

NUUK

Greenland is the largest island in the world
but it is not a continent
I looked up Nuuk, the capital, on YouTube
it is now a modern town with supermarkets
even cafes.
I was there fifty years ago.
Back then, it was a rather primitive place
with a million barking dogs
and drunk people on the dirt roads
they hang dogs slowly so the hairs stand out
it was exported as a pelt
one hopes this practice has been outlawed.
I remember the coastline, bottle green for once, still,
we went fishing in a clear stream, transparent
when we waded over to the other side
it was so deep we could have drowned.
It was the coldest bath of my life.
Greenland was beautiful, but it was then
not a place to remember with fondness,
except for the trout we caught.