The Daily Glance
Jake Berry's Scratching Face is filled with poems that started as Facebook updates. He tells us that in the beginning, but without being told that, I would have assumed they are just short prose haiku-like pieces. They are obviously written by a poet who deals with grand themes, for he mentions the gods, tragedy, and cosmic events, but also by a poet who can change speeds to look at nature and use humor.
The day of a great tragedy begins like any other with the exception that one place, far removed fromthe scene of the tragedy, is uncommonly silent, as if something is missing. We wonder why one morning the birds are not singing, there is no sound of children or traffic. The silence makes us asafraid as the victims will be unafraid, safe in the day's noise and ignorance as the event arrives trough a crack in time.And
The fireflies have returned! After a decade so sparse in number that one felt lucky to see a few at twilight. But last night they were abundant, rising from the grass, swarming around me asking a question in a language I could not understand, though I was delighted to be interrogated.These pieces hint at a larger story without giving us too much, but they are long enough to convey some insight. Does the Facebook part matter? I don't think so. It just gave rise for the occasion to write these pieces and helped structure the form.
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