by Participants at First Story Festival 2026
Take a look around.
Welcome to the first day of your life.
The sun is too bright today.
But we move forward. There’s no other way.
Writing is my only mood.
Chocolate is a yummy food.
and craft is a raft to success.
So, let us begin
with utter nonsense spoken on the wind.
The pen, flashing as quick as lightning.
A mythical dragon flies by.
A drunken smile confused by lies.
Take a chance. Have a dance.
Life can go by in a flash
Which is why we must make it last.
The world is mine
And it’s my time to shine.
Please, I plead, invite me for tea.
Oh how spooky it is to lose creativity.
Are we ok? Without this need
to be excellent?
Give me a sponge to soak up my worries.
A tiny crystal segment of my heart, cracked.
But the shouting is heard by the crowd at last.
Give us freedom!
The man whispers: Do you feel safe?
I reply: “You can’t be from Manchester
without loving the rain!”
I can only remember crumbs of my past.
It was a dark and dingy path.
My mind discovered an ancient cave.
I stand at the edge, take a breath
and dive in.
Goddess of them all, who will wake?
and see their fate?
We’re all, right now, at our oldest age.
One day you’ll sneeze your understanding out.
It’s radical the way life comes in words.
Let go of impostor syndrome.
Free your inhibitions.
The feelings collect in my heart.
