Love That Dog

The quality of Jack’s journal improves as he hones his skills. Jack doesn’t always write to publish, but Miss Stretchberry wishes to legitimize his work anyway. Jack doesn’t understand the significance of his anticipation poem, claiming that it’s “just words / coming out of [his] head / and [he] wasn’t paying / too much attention / to which words / came out / when” (65). Throughout the book, Jack’s understanding of poetry develops, the writing process feeling more and more accessible to him. Even if Jack didn’t intend for anyone to see his anticipation poem, his writing skills developed enough to create an honest work that even utilizes literary devices: He uses a simile to compare how anxiety spins him around “until your brain / feels like / a squished pea” (64). The simile, though simple, describes the experience of overthinking. Miss Stretchberry’s decision to publish the poem shows Jack that even spontaneity can create impactful art as such poems come from the heart.

Jack finally provides more details about Sky. Jack announces that this entry is the first he typed by himself, nudging readers to pay close attention. The poem starts by polishing and unifying details from earlier entries: a blue car, the neighborhood kids playing in the street, and Jack’s dad calling out, “Hey there, son!” (69). Jack continues, using italics for emphasis: “And I turned around / and I saw / blue car blue car / splattered with mud / speeding down the road” (70). These lines harken back to Jack’s response to William Carlos Williams’s “The Red Wheelbarrow.” It is this moment that links the aforementioned unrelated details and Jack’s various characteristics, from his guarded persona to the curious and eager writer at his heart. The moment readers process these connections coincides with the secret closest to his heart: Sky’s death. While spontaneity can lead to impactful art, the slow reveal of Jack’s loss speaks to the thoughtful side of poetry and the power of words in working through one’s pain.