[74] es poeta, is poetical. Notice the use of a noun with the force of an adjective.
[75] y cómo ha de dejar de serlo, and how can it help being so. Lo refers to the previous statement, es poeta.
[76] mientras se cruzan dos palabras, in the twinkling of an eye.
[77] atraerse. The reflexive is here the indirect object of the verb.
[78] Masas de tinieblas..., masas de luz lívida, in loose apposition with colores of the preceding sentence.
[79] y muestra... poder, and shows the limitless stretches of the pampa as they are vividly pierced by the lightning, the symbol of power.
[80] Añádase, Let it be added.
[81] una atmósfera cargada de electricidad. “On a second night we witnessed a splendid scene of natural fireworks; the masthead and yard arm ends shone with St. Elmo’s light; and the form of the vane could almost be traced, as if it had been rubbed with phosphorus. The sea was so highly luminous that the tracks of the penguins were marked by a fiery wake, and the darkness of the sky was momentarily illuminated by the most vivid lightning.”—Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle, describing the entrance to the estuary of the Plata.
[82] como el pelo contrariado del gato, like a cat’s hair when stroked the wrong way.
[83] la vista, subject of the verbs gira, reconcentra, encuentra, in the preceding lines.