The World / El Mundo – Vicente Quirarte (1954 – 2026)

Lilia Carrillo, La ciudad desbordada, contaminación del aire (1969)

The World

(El Mundo, de El ángel es vampiro, 1991)

by Vicente Quirarte

Translated by Ernesto Priego

We want to name the centre of things,
the sounding heart of things,
the silent fervour of things.

We believe: revealing the mystery
will save us from the passing
hours that erode our memory.

It’s better to leave things
behind the spider’s patient web,
behind the wing of the fallen angel,
or the nightgown that grows into your beauty.

The soul of things
is the purest mist that lets us
glimpse their true name.

Do not search for wonders. Wait for them:
your cry of love
rising from the mirror that reflects you:
that slow rebuilding of the world
that affirms its most enduring matter.