My gift to you will be an abyss, she said, 

but it will be so subtle you’ll perceive it

only after many years have passed

and you are far from Mexico and me. 

You’ll find it when you need it most,

and that won’t be

the happy ending, 

but it will be an instant of emptiness and joy. 

And maybe then you’ll remember me, 

if only just a little.

by Roberto Bolaño (1953-2003), Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet and essayist.

To read more poems, click here.