The Cyclone

The Coney Island Cyclone (Leonard J. Francisci)

Have you ever awakened from a deep sleep and not known where you are? If it's really deep you may have felt "derangement des sens" to quote Rimbaud and not know who you are. It's the kind if thing that may have happened to you after a mid-winter afternoon nap. The sun set early so when you awakened your whole house or apartment was bathed in darkness when you came to. All the usual recognizable objects-- your coordinates--had been removed so you were like the plane in that old Twilight Zone which wandered into the past when its navigational system was on the fritz. This kind of momentary amnesia would be delightful if it weren't so frightening. Imagine being given a hallucinogen which provided a temporary passport from the self itself. Then, of course, like the Cyclone at Coney Island, the terrifying but oh so thrilling ride would come to an end and you'd appreciate returning to your solitude, on solid ground.

read the review of The Kafka Studies Department in Booklife

and listen to "Walk on By" by Dionne Warwick