We have to ask for your consent

We have to tell you about our use of cookies on this website. We use essential cookies to enhance visitors' browsing experience and some non-essential cookies to analyse website traffic. If that's okay with you, please click 'Accept' to give your consent. Thanks.  Cookie Policy

Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

  • Login
  • Donate
  • Programmes
    • Young Writers Programme
    • London Voice
    • Connect events
    • Young Writers Festival
    • Young Mentors
    • Young Writers Residential
    • Folio Academy Mentorships
    • Philip Pyke Memorial Prize
    • National Writing Day
  • Writers
    • Our ambassadors
    • Our writers
    • Become a First Story writer
  • Schools
    • Partner schools HUB
    • Resources for partner schools
    • Become a partner school
    • Sample writing by participants
    • Free writing resources
    • Free Festival Toolkit
    • Free copyright education resources
    • BBC Teach x First Story resources
  • Locations
    • East Midlands
    • Greater London
    • North West
    • Yorkshire
  • About
    • About First Story
    • News
    • Impact Report 2023/24
    • Impact stories
    • Staff and trustees
    • Vacancies
  • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Newsletter sign-up
    • Make a donation
  • Menu
  • Skip to left header navigation
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

First Story

Creative writing charity for young people

  • Login
  • Donate
  • Programmes
    • Young Writers Programme
    • London Voice
    • Connect events
    • Young Writers Festival
    • Young Mentors
    • Young Writers Residential
    • Folio Academy Mentorships
    • Philip Pyke Memorial Prize
    • National Writing Day
  • Writers
    • Our ambassadors
    • Our writers
    • Become a First Story writer
  • Schools
    • Partner schools HUB
    • Resources for partner schools
    • Become a partner school
    • Sample writing by participants
    • Free writing resources
    • Free Festival Toolkit
    • Free copyright education resources
    • BBC Teach x First Story resources
  • Locations
    • East Midlands
    • Greater London
    • North West
    • Yorkshire
  • About
    • About First Story
    • News
    • Impact Report 2023/24
    • Impact stories
    • Staff and trustees
    • Vacancies
  • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Newsletter sign-up
    • Make a donation

‘Aqsal Al Awal’
by Sabah Hussein

Skinners’ Academy, London, 2015

(‘Aqsal al Awal’ is Arabic for ‘First Story’)

Our minds are fizzy,
dwindling, turning
Writers feeding us lines
like
sunlight to plant shoots
Our pens, a conversation on paper
Feet, a conversation with carpet

It is 6am and I am
walking. Guilt etched onto my
skin because my 5:05 alarm
woke up my roommate, and

I pass staff, chirping
“morning” as she pushes her
food-filled trolley, her
white hair escaping from
her netted cap it is dancing
to a different tune, a
reckless serenade
from the last time
I saw her, I am

Out and a little bunny
and her child are
scurrying, they stop
perched, looking
around to see if
I’m a threat and I
stamp anyway, not because
I’m a threat, but because I
could be. Finally,

I am here sitting, a circle
of leaves surround me and
though my head is still
buzzing, unorganised
with experiments from
both science and literature,
I take a deep breath. And

breathe, away from
the cigarette skylines, deep
from my hips like
my mama said

Then, I realise:
I owe this to
Aqsal al Awal, teaching me
grammar and comma
placements, showing me
that sometimes
(just sometimes)

Colours described as
cars are better than
cars described through
colours, now

The trees around me
become wooden
tables, my
thoughts become the
future, and I am
thrown three years back

To the beginning of
this story, the first
time I sat there between
two friends, cakes

litter the tables and
I know I wasn’t there
because of
“Gifted and Talented”
but I
don’t care, lines

Coming from
Courttia Newland
sow themselves onto
our desks, encouragements
plastered on the walls
reminding me of homes and
fridges, now

I am standing in the circled
grass area and I
have so much to
say, so much to
be grateful for so

Thank you.

Above Footer

First Story's funders include

Footer

Contact us

44 Webber Street
London
SE1 8QW

020 7481 7777

info@firststory.org.uk

  • First Story East Midlands
  • First Story London
  • First Story North West
  • First Story Yorkshire
  • Vacancies
  • Diversity and Inclusion
  • Safeguarding
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Notice
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

Site Footer

© First Story Ltd. All rights reserved | Registered Charity No: 1122939 | Company No: 06487410