Review by Michael Morell
LOOKING FOR AN EYE
by Peter Krok
FootHills Publishing
P.O. Box 68
Kanona, NY, 14856
ISBN: 0-941053-54-7
2008, 74 pp., $15.00
www.foothillspublishing.com
In Looking For An Eye’s title poem, the first poem of the book, Peter Krok wastes no time getting right to the heart of his subject matter:
Fumbling in the dark, always looking
for an eye, he hurls stones
at his shadow. Voices startle him.
A stranger keeps stalking.
Each time he seems to see,
a finger pokes his eye.
Krok opens up his metaphysical lens and invites readers to look at the world through the poet’s eyes, their own eyes, and the eyes of something greater. And readers are invited to also look within. In Jungian psychoanalysis, “shadow work” is searching for the pieces of ourselves we have hidden away from the world and eventually away from ourselves. This type of work takes a keen eye, constant awareness, and maturity, all traits that can be found in Krok’s writing.
Hurling a stone may seem like a drastic thing to do to one’s shadow, but chances are the shadow has been growing and layering the better part of a lifetime. In “Corners,” we come across a child gazing out a window at a Joan of Arc statue:
He wonders what it takes
to be a hero or a friend.What makes him different,
he asks again and again.His fingers press a globe,
How is life in Australia?The counselor said,
He’s afraid of his own shadow.So much he doesn’t understand.
He keeps raising his hand.
