Last time I began by writing that haiku poems could be described as moments of insight. Whilst haiku usually contain seasonal words and a strict syllable count of 5-7-5 , does not always have to be so.
These days I find myself less concerned with counting syllables. Conveying ideas concisely seems to be of greater importance.
The above haiku appeared in the October haiku column in the English newspaper Mainichi Daily News, which is published in Osaka, Japan. I am especially happy with this little poem and it evokes so many personal memories. It can be understood in several different ways depending on the experiences of the hearer.
Let me tell you about the personal experience it describes:
When I was a small boy I shared a bedroom with my brother who was eighteen months older than me. He preferred the bed by the window, but it so happened that this bed was also directly under the only light bulb in the room. As a small boy I did not like going to sleep in the dark, but my brother was extremely impatient with this. Not surprisingly really, as he was under the light, but he was not willing to change beds with me. I can see the bedroom vividly in my immagination as I write. I would lie down on my side to sleep and hear the sound of a slow thump - thump - thump just exactly like the slow step of a burglar coming up the stairs. I knew there were only twenty four steps, and so would count the 'steps' carefully eighteen - nineteen - twenty - twenty-one - twenty-two - thenty-three - TWENTY - FOUR and with relief twenty-five - twenty-six ..... The sound of the thumping was of course my own heart beat resonating through the pulse at my ear.
Others have taken the poem to refer to someone who is getting older and taking their time to climb stairs. Their heart rate increases too much so they count it, wait, and proceed more slowly.
Others again see it as an exciting poem. Some great adventure awaits at the top of the stair and this excitement makes the heart pound with anticipation.