The Vision - Armando Rojas Guardia

Unobstructed, the building

suspends itself in the still

timid light of dawn.

Mere iron and crystal

draw that weightless

geometry impelled to seek

the cloud’s glory.

This century is mystical

despite all its cruelties:

it was able to build

an exact moment of innocence

to make it shine for a few minutes,

just before the traffic

that will swarm the city.

An instant later,

the aereal architecture

will regain its showcase form,

its vulgar eloquence, its urban pomp.

Meanwhile, the peace of the avenue

is desolate, where the steel,

shining pulchritude floats

giving back our soul.

---

Armando Rojas Guardia (born 1949) Venezuela

Translated by Guillermo Parra

Source: Typo Issue 18