Advice to Travellers in Foreign Parts

Travelling back from the airport
you place your trust in the night taxi
to find your way in the dark.

At the Hotel Hilton São Paulo Morumbi
you stand in the lift with the Night Porter
who tells you to be streetwise -
to exercise caution in certain parts,
to keep out of sight
cameras, credit cards, valuables and cash.

The advice is neatly packaged -
it is timed to finish
when the lift has reached its stop

You get out, nurse the shock
of where you have come to;
turn the key in the brass lock
and slowly enter the room.