KAFKAESQUE IMAGES
Kafkaesque images so powerful
in the copper light
of a less than courteous sun
for an unguarded moment
commingling on us
by one red eyelid photograph
staring at us
outdoors at a stop sign
at dusk watched by
spy glasses of unknown
cameras taking our pictures
by unauthorized visions
on parking lots
even after happy hours
beyond city limits
by auguries and juries
as back drops of memory
haunting us while secretly
taking your prints.
Just after reading this poem, I saw the following quotation at the beginning of a book called *Kafka’s Hat* by Patrice Martin:
When reading Kafka, I cannot avoid approving or rejecting the legitimacy of the adjective “Kafkaesque”, which one is likely to hear every quarter of an hour, applied indiscriminately.
The quote is from Italo Calvino.
My gut feeling is that more and more references to “Kafkaesque” these days are more than legitimate — it may be the only response.