dadakuku, 2026

ink smearing through my aura an ellipse of moths

Published in dadakuku, September 16, 2026

https://dadakuku.com/2026/09/16/9090/

The Other Bunny, 2026

dunes after dunes over 6000 eyes buzzing around the moon

Published in The Other Bunny, September 14, 2026

https://theotherbunny.blog/2026/09/14/poem-51/

Mono - A monoku chapbook 2026

fence post light sifting the ellipses of moths 

Published in Mono - A chapbook published by Pearl Pirie.

https://pearlpirie.com/blog/2026/06/17/mono/

The Bougainvillea Journal, 2026

winter sunlight—
a patch of marigolds
in family garden

moving day—
on the dining table
wilted marigolds

wandering after cawing fades into the winter dusk


The Bougainvillea Journal, Issue 01 – Spring 2026.
https://aswordsfly.com/index.php/issue-1/

Five Fleas Itchy Poetry, 2026

endless war
here and now
hear and know

Five Fleas Itchy Poetry, Sept 25, 2026

https://fivefleas.blogspot.com/

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murky dusk the raven tickling the demons within 

 

night terror the strobe lights puzzling my aura

Five Fleas Itchy Poetry, June 02, 2026

https://fivefleas.blogspot.com/

-----

crowdfunding the circle of crows


lawsuit the whereabouts of magpies

Five Fleas Itchy Poetry, February 04, 2026

https://fivefleas.blogspot.com/

FromOneLine Anthology - Meg / Kobayaashi Studios, 2024-25

another week 

passed after betrayal 

autumn moon

this longing to drift

across the darkest sky

-------

none of them had labels the emergency aid 

-------

three copper pennies

overlapped in the well 

forgotten wishes 

-------

the string snapped

of a refugee child’s guitar 

autumn wind 

-------

there are lights 

on Mars

after whispers 

of our gossip drift

above the dark skies

------- 

The Wind of Change

I’ve forgotten too many things while moving to a new house, a deliberate effort to preserve my emotional bond with my family home. As I pack, I realize I am gathering things that hold a little bit of sentimental value. What I choose to leave behind—old vases, velvet curtains, a wooden trunk, worn kitchen utensils, backyard swings, and walnut furniture. Each of these objects are deeply woven into the fabric of my childhood, holding memories that resurface with a glance or touch. It’s my way of staying connected to my childhood home as I know it’s time to move forward into a modern life that may or may not hold the same sense of belonging. 

 

end of summer—  

husks and dust settle

in the balcony bird feeder 

-----------

Dark Shadows 

It was hard to interpret  

the untold miseries  

etched on the faces  

of those forced to leave  

their homeland, their heritage,

their only place to live freely.  

It was hard to interpret  

the words that pierce hearts,  

the wounds too deep  

to heal without miracles,  

the tears that roll  

down the cheeks  

of the helpless, of the vulnerable,  

those without a voice.  

It was hard to interpret  

the silence of old women  

sitting on the rubble 

of time,  

finding no answers  

for why’s been scapegoated—  

a thousand innocent souls.  

It was hard to interpret  

the prayers locked 

in quivering lips,  

unspoken, ungranted, 

until the very end.  

It was hard to interpret  

the peace after massacre—  

still unfolding the wings  

of another war within.  

-----

home alone 

“I can see everything now, can't I?”. I asked this question to myself before lying on the sofa near the window that opens to the garden. I want to make a constellation before going to sleep but the grayish white clouds made me draw the curtains instead. I scroll through the social media posts and find nothing relevant and interesting. I start staring at the roof where I can see the dappled light of the lamp reflecting the tiny stars. It’s time to connect the dots. I made a small constellation with the stars and named it after my childhood nickname. The nickname that I never heard of for years and that still echoes through my memories. I still am not ready to let go of things that were once a part of my life. 

sleepless night 

the flashes of 

distant lightning 

-------

echoing childhood 

“You make me dream of dragonflies, O little rascal!”  she screams from the hilltop.

He is her childhood friend—the one she always wants to be around. After ten long years, she has returned to her hometown, the place woven with the golden threads of her early memories. City life has drained her: routine, noise, deadlines, loneliness but no real joy. So she comes back, searching for some peace and real happiness. 

She wanders through the old town bazaar, where she would come with her parents and her childhood friends. The local park greets her with rusty swings; their creaking sounds seem to recognize her touch.  

Then she climbs the hillside behind her family’s old haveli—the place where she and Sunny once sat for hours. Their evenings were filled with stargazing, chasing fireflies, listening to crickets, and finding shapes in the full moon.

“It was routine back then,”  she murmurs, taking a deep sigh. 

The tears roll down her cheeks, and she lets them fall, unbothered. She screams into the vast sky, but only her own voice returns, echoing through the valley, sharp and empty.

With a heavy heart, she walks back to the haveli…

back home late

the dry leaves cling 

to her shawl

-----------

deep winter night 

“She took the last piece of cake and went back to her room,” everyone whispered at the party.  

She wants to eat it alone—especially after her recent illness, which has kept her mostly confined to her room. It’s their 50th wedding anniversary, and her husband has thrown a lavish party, eager to present their marriage as perfect to his social circle.

He shares a carefully worded post on social media, tagging her too. The steady ping of notifications irritates her, and she puts her phone on silent.

Taking a small bite of the cake, she mutters.

 

“Why do people pretend their imperfect marriages are perfect, especially on social media?”

She tosses her phone onto the bed and moves to the window—her usual refuge when sadness creeps in. Gently, she touches her faded purple scars on her wrists and thinks about her traumatic past. 

Outside, evening fog is shrouding the street lights. She looks up at the sky where the stars are almost dim—barely holding on their light. 

blurred window—  

 she scribbles her initials   

 without her family name 

My 10 poems (haiku, tanka, freeverse, haibun, and gembun) in the latest FromOneLine anthology, Vol 07. The FromOneLine paperback and hardcover versions are now available to purchase from Amazon!



ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0G5NQLPRZ
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published
Publication date ‏ : ‎ 7 Dec. 2025
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 258 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8277722510
Item weight ‏ : ‎ 399 g
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 14.57 x 2.13 x 22.19 cm

Paperback : https://mybook.to/FOL7
Hardcover : https://mybook.to/FOL7H

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0G5NQLPRZ?tag=uklinktagbk-21&th=1&psc=1&geniuslink=true

https://kobayaashi.wordpress.com/

---------------------

is it a long way
down memory lane
double contrail

----

the calendar was out of days

hospice wall
shadow after shadow
her memory fades

----

shadows
always find a way
in the backyard
childhood memories
on the wall

----

three keys

hung on a hook
of the family house

since last year
when we are forced
to leave our place

----


they arrived

under cover of rain
wind howling
midnight dreams

out of the blue

in each fold 

of the bedsheet
his last call

winter stars

tears fall
without sound
my lingering grief

----

we gathered
at the end of time

without gravity
we still become
the center of universe

Pages 46, 91, 113, 170, 188, 252

Paperback and Hardback versions are now available from Amazon

Paperback : https://bookgoodies.com/a/B0D9RJVGW7

Hardback : https://bookgoodies.com/a/B0D9XJSVPC

The Paperback is available in India from Pothi : https://store.pothi.com/book/meghan-dargue-fromoneline-unseen/

You can also find the book (with relevant links) on the Kobayaashi site : https://kobayaashi.co.uk/fromoneline-the-unseen/

Smols Poetry Journal, 2025

inkblot shapeshifting my shadow


delusional circle of crows moon

Smols Poetry Journal, December 03, 2025

https://smolspoetryjournal.blogspot.com/2025_12_03_archive.html

Whiptail, 2025

body shaping the murmuration of norms

Whiptail: Journal of the Single-Line Poem, Issue 13, June 2025

https://www.whiptailjournal.com/_files/ugd/61a9c9_f5b265b0507b41cba444561b42ea6c25.pdf

-------

moon
lit
nigh
t

un
ravell
ing

the
sw
arm
of
moths


Whiptail: Journal of the Single-Line Poem, Issue 12, February 2025

dadakuku, 2025

in
ner
w
ar
linge
ring
fog

Dadakuku, 25 January 2025 

https://dadakuku.com/2025/01/25/6390/

Five Fleas Itchy Poetry, 2024

before and after his white lies heat mirage

dried lilacs her illness in a nutshell

soccer kick the parabola of adrenaline rush

political rhetoric winding up the wireless fidelity


Five Fleas Itchy Poetry, September 18, 2024

https://fivefleas.blogspot.com/2024/09/evening-of-september-18-2024.html

Little Marvels - Poetry Pea Anthology 2024

monsoon wind the cracking of mom’s bones


Little Marvels, First Poetry Pea Anthology 2024

Little Marvels is available for purchase on Amazon.


https://www.amazon.com/Little-Marvels-Anthology-Patricia-McGuire/dp/B0DLL8VQKS/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.utSedteqDx9Ns-_RCmam7CkT2lYadM5Zda89E-PioXD4ZX997aLir4K7I0mkyBibc0FtiOdpl8qZnqlbBqhIRxqv49QJ-V2wqWkN4Na0bYC86K13hntrsz4vEY2D0m09L9VCLom0rf8l0EqKOcExyfRKQ2ApPamkcqzawIsi6z67DrgU9JlhOH1aArXGmtHrK9jOqHSiihQK4T1f3zW_hCMDrE2hg4PhbqdJRzb86lc.I59rSGJXR61teyOD_INESRwhYZuU2ef-raK_lY7Y9w8&dib_tag=se&qid=1731052247&refinements=p_27%3APatricia+McGuire&s=books&sr=1-1&text=Patricia+McGuire

Freshout mag, 2024

haiga with Oscar Luparia

Freshout Mag, December 11, 2024

--------

riverside walk the moon and I parting ways 

Freshout Mag, September 09, 2024

------

war or no war blowing dandelions

Freshout Mag, August 06, 2024

dadakuku, 2024

coinstocryptosisnowaking

Dadakuku Journal, October 21, 2024

------

kleptomania clouds after clouds missing vowels
Dadakuku Journal, May 25, 2024


https://dadakuku.com/2024/05/25/4910/

Fireflies' Light, 2023

lingering moonlight
in the haveli courtyard
family reunion


binge eating
I devour
rhetoric


midsummer rain detoxing the digital rants


Fireflies' Light, issue 28, 2023

hedgerow journal, 2023

mom's will unfolding night jasmine

hedgerow #143

2023 Marlene Mountain Memorial Contest

his turban folds her free will

– Hifsa Ashraf

This beautifully worded ku brings to mind how a turban is associated with family honour in India and how the onus of keeping that honour intact is on the girls, who are conditioned to be submissive and obedient. They are taught to unquestioningly accept and respect boundaries and discouraged to have a free will and a voice. I like how this is conveyed without it being in-the face.

Commentary by Vandana Parashar

Honorable Mentions - 2023 Marlene Mountain Memorial Contest Results Judged by Rowan Beckett and Vandana Parashar -  217 one-line poems entered 

Five Fleas Itchy Poetry, 2023

rusty lock the smell of rain


counting on the power line crows


a refugee’s dreams sinking in the small boat

Five Fleas Itchy Poetry, July 30, 2023

Trash Panda, 2023

chainsaw cutting through the deep bones

Trash Panda, Vol. 6 winter 2022-23

------

hurricane beating the bushes around narratives

after flood the river and I sharing the bed

the movement of tectonic plates stacking up more paperwork


Trash Panda, Vol. 4 winter 2022-23

https://www.trashpandahaiku.org/issues

Lothlorien Poetry Journal, 2023

photosynthesis
resetting  
my aura 

progress update
overshared 

Hifsa Ashraf & R.C. Thomas

***

brain fog
gliding through the mist
a robotic goose

a bird in the hand
out of memory 

Hifsa Ashraf & R.C. Thomas

***
 
my undecillion lives
so often I come
to nought 

countless
false alarms 

R.C. Thomas & Hifsa Ashraf

***

caching nightmares
what's left of now
kept for later 

catalyzing
phosphenes

R.C. Thomas & Hifsa Ashraf

***

Sagittarius A
adopting
a new identity 

the treadmill
to nowhere 

Hifsa Ashraf & R.C. Thomas

Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Saturday, 12 August 2023 

--------

Images: Oscar Luparia

Poems: Hifsa Ashraf

Lothlorien Poetry Journal, 2023 published by strider marcus jones at May 13, 2023

https://lothlorienpoetryjournal.blogspot.com/2023/05/five-haiga-poems-by-hifsa-ashraf-in.html