Two Franzlations; Two Aphorisms

Hugh Thomas and I have been working on a collection of "Kafka Franzlations" (a collection of imaginary Kafka parables.) Here are two back and forths:

1.

Gregor Samsa awoke from uneasy dreams to find himself transformed into a stuffed-animal cockroach. Now everyone wanted to pet him. He would turn up in the most unexpected places in the small apartment. His family said, "It's as if he had legs of his own, but you can see they're only printed on." Finally his sister kept him locked in her violin case. Before her concerts, she would take him out, kiss him, and tell him to listen carefully, because she would be playing especially for him.

2.

Father woke up. We had written all over him. Maps of our childhood. A plan for our success. A wish list. The names of our lovers. Our professions. Diseases. Names of bombs. An image of a cockroach. The only things left.


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Now, on another channel, two unrelated aphorisms:



Dreams are the wake of sleep.


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Eyes are windows to the soul. Hands are windows to the hands.