After the War
fallen leaves in the whirlpool of time
dust devils after the stampede of minds
empty pots clutter, silver spoons clinking
day and night, without pause
humid dawn, bills swelling in the pockets
dragging shadows on the sidewalks
ravens ellipsing on the furrowed horizon
like dark ink smeared across the scroll
a lull of peace, cradling the moon
sleep before clouds eclipse the sight
all the dead left behind;
until thunder cracks open more skies
Hifsa Ashraf is an award-winning multilingual poet, author, editor, and social activist based in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. She is a pioneer in Pakistan for writing Japanese-form English micropoetry and is internationally recognized with publications in over 200 literary venues worldwide and numerous prestigious international awards. She is the author of six individual and four collaborative micropoetry collections. She received the Touchstone Award for Individual Poems (2021) from The Haiku Foundation (USA) and was shortlisted again in 2022. Her poetry collection Her Fading Henna Tattoo received Honourable Mentions in the Touchstone Distinguished Books Award (2020) and the Haiku Society of America Merit Book Award (2021). Her latest collaborative mystical haiku collection, Beyond Emptiness, is co-authored with Jacob D. Salzer and Nicholas Klacsanzky.
Blog: hifsays.blogspot.com
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