The ship finally steams
into the glorious port of Valparaíso.
The first thing I do is buy a newspaper,
feeling stunned by the reality
of arrival.
The leading story of the day
is about the death of a famous historian
whose books I know well, so I spend
twenty minutes
scribbling my own
analysis of his work.
With this article and my suitcase
full of poems, I have all the luggage
I’ll ever need.