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A fortified secret entrance reveals itself as the concrete is chipped away

Floor-to-ceiling abundance of film canisters and documents

The spoils of an overwhelming bureaucracy

I search for cans containing footage of streetside scenes of late 19th century Bohemia

And then any sign of a tall and gaunt but unexpectedly gentle man

To glance for just a few seconds as you casually cross the street

To see footage of your walk, your glance, or even hear your voice

An unexpected literary delight

Somewhere there must be candid footage of Franz Kafka

Caught on camera leaving an average day of work

Maybe observing an aeroplane in Breschia

Comforting a girl with a story of a doll that ran away

Trailed by two floating balls or an odradek

And then disappearing into the gears of the crowd