Presence, 2025

dry river path
after surgery
her breast scar

Published in Presence issue # 82

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river thaw
the lingering caw
of a mountain

Published in Presence issue # 81

https://haikupresence.org/

Presence, 2024

temporary ceasefire
the constant hiss
of conspiracies

July issue #79 of Presence

Presence, 2023

muffled croaks 

from the forest pond 

midsummer rain

Presence, issue 76

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night jasmine...
the scent of mom
that never lasts

Presence, issue 75

Presence, Britain's leading independent haiku journal, 2022

autumn leaves
raking to and fro
his last words

Presence, #73

Received the "Best-of-Issue Award" for my #haiku alongside John Hawkhead and Dan Schwerin by 48 readers of Presence #73. 

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autumn leaves
raking to and fro
his last words

Presence, #73

Best of the issue # 73 by the readers, will be in issues 73 and 74 

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dappled sunlight
the fading poem
in my diary

Presence, #72

Presence, Britain's leading independent haiku journal, 2021

Bone Dance

onyx floor
all the demons
under my feet

tapping out the steps
of a danse macabre

epiphysis
reshifting
my axis

coiled into
the skull chamber
a blood oath

passing on
the endless vendetta

at the cliff edge
grasping the chalice
on an altar of salt

Hifsa Ashraf and John Hawkhead
Presence, issue #71

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morning mist 

the low flight 

of a white raven 

alpine moon 

brewing more coffee 

for the night


Presence, Issue #71, November 2021

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fireside story
a raven breaks the silence
at the end

Presence, Issue#70, July 2021

Presence, Britain's leading independent haiku journal, 2020

The Dispersal of Dust


self-isolation
seeking solace
in a distant constellation


light dots of rain
along the empty pavement


ghost town
moving away
from my shadow


hurrying along
a dust devil


evening stroll
the dust blurs
my vision


low cloud morning
the cough of an engine


heavy breath
some foreign particles
dilute my blood


riding the ragged road
stone words on my chest


covid-19
a thousand stories
on the tip of my tongue


making a to do list
same as yesterday


windswept market
the small fingerprints
on each rack


dust dry wind
the rattle of seedpods



Hifsa Ashraf and John Hawkhead

Presence, issue #67

Presence, 2018

glowing coal
under the white ashes
a part of me
I haven’t shared yet
with you

Presence #62