Brave Saif

By Fahim Firfiray

Tabu, November, 2023

Saif lived with his mum and dad,
in a gorgeous coastal town,
Their lives were full of hardship,
but you would never see him frown.

His parents truly cherished him,
they loved their son to pieces,
"Our love for you" they said to him,
“everyday increases."

His cousins all lived right nearby,
his life was full of play,
And to the mosque, five times a day,
he would go to pray.

Times were getting dangerous,
they were taking care,
A sense of fear for mum and dad,
was, quite literally, in the air.

One night as they were all asleep,
unleashed from high above,
a missile tore right through their block,
and into their house of love.

Their building was demolished,
with Saif’s family deep inside,
He was trapped and couldn't move,
however much he tried.

Panic - terror - mayhem, confusion all around,
It soon gave way to quietness,
with pain the only sound.

Saif lay trapped underneath,
the mounds of brick and rock,
His legs, arms and body ached,
as he wandered into shock.

He held back his fear and prayed,
he knew he had no choice,
Then suddenly,
from the darkness,
he heard his father’s voice.

“Saif, Saif, my beloved child,
If you hear me, count to five?”
"Baba, baba, I'm right here,
I’m so happy you’re alive.”

"Trust in Allah" said his dad,
“It may seem that we’re in trouble,
But mark my words, folk will come,
and remove us from this rubble."

Saif could move his right arm,
but he could not move the other,
He then felt a hand nearby,
and the fingers of his mother.

"Mama, mama, are you okay?"
She gave him no reply,
But she squeezed his little palm so tight,
and he gave out a joyful cry.

"Baba, baba, mum is here,
I think that she is fine,
I cannot see or hear her, but her hand is holding mine."

"Listen Saif – until help arrives,
let's keep her awake,
Let's keep talking out aloud,
however long they take."

So that's exactly what Saif did,
chatting to his mum and dad,
He said how much he loved them,
and spoke of good times they had had.

"Baba, you always teach me well,
football, judo, fixing stuff,
You’re always doing things with me,
I can never get enough."

"You taught me how to fish,
I am the Fishing King,
I always catch the big ones, you never catch a thing!"

"Mama, thank you for your love,
you keep me safe and clean,
I have toys and games to play with,
you are never, ever mean."

"Whenever I am sick, you are by my bed,
You give me food and drink,
and gently stroke my head."

Saif talked for ages,
he remembered much,
He couldn't see his parents,
but he could feel his mother's touch.

He talked, talked, and talked still more,
but neither parent would reply,
And his mother's hand grew weaker,
as every minute ticked on by.

Very soon her hand turned loose,
and every fingertip,
was now all mild and motionless,
she had lost her grip.

"Mum has let go!” screamed Saif,
“she has let go of my hand,”
“Baba, tell me what is happening, I do not understand."

“Baba, baba, are you there?”
Saif began to shout,
"Baba, can you hear me?",
he kept on calling out.

But his father still gave no reply,
silence all around,
Saif knew that he was now alone,
and just waited to be found.

Rescuers soon reached him,
severely injured but alive,
His mum and dad were picked out too,
they did not survive.

Khalid's Rocket

June 1999

Miss Saadiq was the teacher

Of the science class today

The lesson was on rockets 

What makes them blast away?

Her students never faced any

confusion or frustration

She would always show how something works

With a simple demonstration

She reached into her cabinet

And got a big surprise

Her mini-rocket was not there

She could not believe her eyes

It was a small but great machine

A super tool for learning

The boys could see it travel up

With booster rockets burning

One boy whose name was Khalid

Thought that space was so amazing

At home he had a telescope

His nights were spent stargazing

He had a model of the planet Mars

That plugged into a socket

But one thing that he did not have

Was a working rocket

That morning Khalid came in early

An evil thought came to his head

“Why should I buy my own new rocket?

I could steal this one instead?”

He opened the glass door

And gently grabbed the rocket

Then, looking all around,

He put it in his pocket.

Miss Saadiq was upset

It was amongst her favourite toys

She thought the cleaners took it

And not the classroom boys

“I’ll speak to all those cleaners”

She cried out, most concerned

“They came and took my rocket,

While my back was turned”

Khalid knew that he’d done wrong

It all happened in a hurry

He felt bad about the harm he’d cause

He now began to worry

Khalid slowly stood up from his chair

And took something from his pocket

He said “I’m very sorry, Miss

It was ME who stole the rocket.”

So, I’ve read to you this little rhyme

Now it’s up to you

Can you tell me, in this story,

What bad thing did Khalid do?

Ahmed, at the Supermarket

June, 1999

Ahmed was in Tesco

Shopping with his mother

He walked behind the trolley

Holding hands with his brother

He loved to go out shopping

It was always so exciting

The shelves, the aisles, the nice displays

The different coloured lighting.

But he drove his mother crazy

Because he just could not stay still

He’d touch the shelves here and there

Against his mother’s will

They walked on through the store

and then at an open space

Ahmed saw a sight

that lit up his tiny face

A mountain of baked beans

Stacked high upon each other

Ahmed had an evil thought 

As he stood next to his brother

He looked below at the base

Then acted oh so slow

He pulled away a can

From the bottom row

The whole pile became unsteady

Then BANG! What a sound!

Tins of beans from up so high

Came crashing to the ground.

Ahmed’s mum was so upset

She said, “you’re such a naughty lad!”

The manager came from across the store

He was very sad!

“Who did this Ahmed?” His mother said

As they both stared at each other

Ahmed yelled back “HE DID, MUM!”

And he pointed to his brother!

So, I’ve read to you this little rhyme

Now it’s up to you

Can you tell me in this story

What bad thing did Ahmed do?

​

​