Pokes are back, and so is the nostalgia of a magical time when Facebook was new and fresh, and not the scourge of democracy, eating up the data of 3 billion unwitting tributaries across the population diaspora of the planet.
Poking people was a very prominent feature. You can see the "Poke him!" option beneath the profile image here.

What's a poke? Well, nothing. You poke a person, they poke you back. It's like the least interactive interaction you can have, but it was also a fun way to maybe flirt, let somebody know you're thinking of them, etc.

But then, the era of the poke faded.

People tired of the arbitrary "Jeff poked you" messages, and in 2011, Facebook relegated the poke option to the wastelands of your deep settings, where no one could find it. Or no one could be bothered looking for it either way.

Clear as mud, the poke never disappeared completely but was more or less pushed to the back of the class and forced to stand in virtual shame with its face to the wall.
Nobody cared, and Pokes were once again relegated to the dustbin of history, left to the fate of becoming a virtual footnote, alongside Pogs and fidget spinners and NFTs, and other one-time trends.

But perhaps, that is not the end of the story for the once celebrated pointy-finger.
Yes, pokes are back once again, this time because Facebook decided to make them more prominent, by adding them to search results for people you know in the app.
And people are poking again on Facebook, which would bring a faint glimmer of what was once there and new users of Facebook, who now will also share the agony of an unwelcome poke.

Will this last? No. Of course, not. Because people will lose interest soon, most probably very shortly.

But as a brief nostalgic note and a monument to the impermanency of web trends, it is worth marking the return of a uniquely Facebook element.
So go poke some people, see what happens.