The Scattered Words

The Sky Is Everywhere

This flow traces how Lennie’s poems transform private grief into a record that another person can read and understand.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Private Alphabet A Private Alphabet from "The Sky Is Everywhere". A Private Alphabet Words for what cannot be said Lennie writes fragments about Bailey on scraps of paper, placing them in the woods and around town.

A Private Alphabet from "The Sky Is Everywhere". A Private Alphabet Words for what cannot be said Lennie writes fragments about Bailey on scraps of paper, placing them in the woods and around town.

A Private Alphabet Words for what cannot be said Lennie writes fragments about Bailey on scraps of paper, placing them in the woods and around town. The poems give form to feelings ordinary speech cannot hold. Grief made shareable Although Lennie does not initially intend to share them, the pieces express her inner life more fully than she can in conversation.

Messages to the Dead Messages to the Dead from "The Sky Is Everywhere". Messages to the Dead An unanswered number Lennie calls Bailey’s still-active phone and leaves messages about her questions and pain.

Messages to the Dead from "The Sky Is Everywhere". Messages to the Dead An unanswered number Lennie calls Bailey’s still-active phone and leaves messages about her questions and pain.

Messages to the Dead An unanswered number Lennie calls Bailey’s still-active phone and leaves messages about her questions and pain. The act gives her a momentary listener who cannot reply. Speech beyond the phone She also addresses Bailey through poems and remembered conversations. These forms maintain a bond without pretending that communication works as it once did.

Words Found by Joe Words Found by Joe from "The Sky Is Everywhere". Words Found by Joe A poem precedes its author Joe finds a poem at The Great Meadow before he knows Lennie well.

Words Found by Joe from "The Sky Is Everywhere". Words Found by Joe A poem precedes its author Joe finds a poem at The Great Meadow before he knows Lennie well.

Words Found by Joe A poem precedes its author Joe finds a poem at The Great Meadow before he knows Lennie well. Later he notices other fragments and begins searching for them. Attention as intimacy The poems let Joe encounter parts of Lennie she has not yet said aloud. His reading creates a connection that begins outside their romantic relationship.

The Archive Returned The Archive Returned from "The Sky Is Everywhere". The Archive Returned Private work made visible Joe returns a box of poems he gathered from around Clover.

The Archive Returned from "The Sky Is Everywhere". The Archive Returned Private work made visible Joe returns a box of poems he gathered from around Clover.

The Archive Returned Private work made visible Joe returns a box of poems he gathered from around Clover. Lennie feels exposed, but also recognizes that he has taken her words seriously. A context restored Reading the fragments together helps Joe understand the grief and confusion behind her actions. The poems make an explanation possible without excusing what she did.

The Last Poem Kept The Last Poem Kept from "The Sky Is Everywhere". The Last Poem Kept A deliberate message Lennie writes Joe a new poem and leaves it at the forest bedroom.

The Last Poem Kept from "The Sky Is Everywhere". The Last Poem Kept A deliberate message Lennie writes Joe a new poem and leaves it at the forest bedroom.

The Last Poem Kept A deliberate message Lennie writes Joe a new poem and leaves it at the forest bedroom. Unlike her earlier scraps, this piece is intentionally addressed to a living reader. Risk accepted She fears that the poem is embarrassing, but lets it remain. Writing becomes an act of trust rather than only a way to contain grief.

The first weeks after Bailey’s death

During Lennie’s summer in the Inner Pumpkin Sanctum

Before Joe and Lennie become a couple

After Lennie and Joe’s separation

Near the end of the summer