Postcard with haiku

The postcard with a haiku is a secret love note sent by Ben Hanscom to Beverly Marsh on the last day of school in June 1958, a quiet act of devotion that becomes a talisman of the Losers' Club's intertwined childhood. It is the only concrete expression of Ben's deep, hidden feelings for Beverly, a poem he labors over in the Derry Public Library and mails anonymously, hoping to mark the day she spoke to him. The postcard later resurfaces in Beverly's memory as a fragment of the summer they all shared, a piece of evidence that the bonds between them were real and lasting, even as the details of its authorship fade and shift over the years.

Composition and Mailing

On the last day of school, after a brief, kind exchange with Beverly on the steps of Derry Elementary School, Ben Hanscom walks to the Derry Public Library. There, inspired by a haiku lesson in English class, he spends twenty minutes composing a poem on scrap paper, carefully counting syllables to fit the seventeen-syllable form. The final poem reads: "Your hair is winter fire, / January embers. / My heart burns there, too." He copies it in block letters onto a pre-stamped postcard he buys for three cents, addresses it simply to "Miss Beverly Marsh, Lower Main Street, Derry, Maine, Zone 2," and mails it from the library's mailbox. He does not include his name or return address, wanting the poem to be a mystery that might make Beverly happy, even if she never knows who sent it.

The Haiku's Content and Meaning

The haiku Ben writes is a concentrated image of Beverly's red hair, which he compares to "winter fire" and "January embers." The poem links the warmth and brightness of her hair to a feeling of burning in his own heart, capturing his intense, pre-adolescent crush. Ben is proud of the poem's structure and economy, feeling that haiku's strict rules make it a clean, honest form of expression. He hopes the poem will mark the day in Beverly's memory, even if she attributes it to another boy.

Beverly's Reception and Misattribution

Beverly receives the postcard and hides it in her bottom drawer, beneath her underwear, a place her father never looks. She treasures the poem, but she does not know who wrote it. For years, she believes it might have been Bill Denbrough, the boy she loves, because he is the one who seems most capable of writing something beautiful. This misattribution persists until the summer of 1958, when, hiding with Ben in the clubhouse after escaping Henry Bowers, she thanks him for the poem. Ben initially denies it, but when she insists, he admits he wrote it, confessing his love for her. This moment of confession is a turning point in their friendship, solidifying their bond even as Beverly's romantic feelings remain with Bill.

Symbolic Significance

The postcard with the haiku serves as a concrete symbol of Ben's love for Beverly, a love he feels is impossible because of his weight and his perception of himself as a loser. It is a secret gift, a way of marking his presence in her life without the risk of rejection. The poem also becomes a touchstone of memory for Beverly. In 1985, as she returns to Derry, she remembers the poem and the feeling it gave her, though she can no longer recall exactly what it said or who wrote it. The haiku represents the hidden, tender currents of feeling that run beneath the surface of the Losers' Club's shared adventures, a private testament to the power of childhood love and the enduring mystery of the past.