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Grazielle Bambirra was born in Belo Horizonte-MG, Brazil and she is a 27 years old Editing Technologies undergraduate student at CEFET-MG. Since she was little she realized that she expresses herself better by writing, giving shape and soul to words. She writes poems since learning poems exist. I always loved playing with words and with the sounds they have.” |
The Time I Take To Speak (written in English and Portuguese)
The time I take to speak
Maybe it’s different from yours
But the content of your speech
It’s certainly the same as my own
I don’t ask you much
Just respect and patience
My disfluency isn’t funny
It’s a true test of resilience
It’s not because I halt as I speak
That you have the right to interrupt me
Just imagine how you would feel
If they did to you the same as you do to me
If I want, I can, I will
Even if I stutter a little
I’ll raise my voice without embarrassment
Knowing that I also deserve to be heard
My stuttering is not inefficiency
And it doesn’t define who I am
I define myself by my qualities
Everyday stronger and learning that I can
I will speak tirelessly
Until prejudice exists no more
Nice to meet you, I’m a stutterer
And I came to teach the world to hear
O tempo que eu falo
Talvez difira do seu
Mas o conteúdo da sua fala
Certamente é o mesmo do meu
Não te peço muita coisa
Apenas respeito e paciência
Minha disfluência não é engraçada
É um verdadeiro teste de resiliência
Não é porque eu travo ao falar
Que você pode me interromper
Imagine como você se sentiria
Se fizessem isso com você
Se eu quero, eu posso, eu consigo
Ainda que eu agarre um pouco
Levantarei a voz sem embaraço
Pois sei que mereço ser ouvido
Minha gagueira não é ineficiência
E nem define quem eu sou
Me defino por minhas qualidades
Cada dia mais forte e sonhador
Falarei incansavelmente
Até o preconceito inexistir
Muito prazer, eu sou gago
E vim ensinar o mundo a ouvir
Grazielle this is an amazing poem. I love this part: “Nice to meet you, I’m a stutterer. And I came to teach the world to hear.”
I have never thought about this idea that people who stutter really test people to partake in active listening and give others the gift of really hearing someone.
I would love to hear from you about what the stuttering awareness is in Brazil and if there is a community that you have for support? I know their tends to be high stigma in Latin America in general so am intrigued to hear more about what it is like as a person who stutters in Brazil.
Thank you for sharing your incredible wisdom in this poem
This poem is touching, and it is important for those who do not stutter to take the time to listen
Hi Graziella.
This poem is as beautiful and eloquent, as it is educational. This should be framed and hung in every SLP therapy room and teachers’ office. Love it!
Stay safe and keep writing.
Anita Blom, Sweden
Graziella,
This poem was amazing and absolutely heartwarming! It’s definitely something that I found empowering and just overall spirit lifting. What are the most important steps one should take to be able to get the confidence you’ve showed in this poem? I’d love to know.
Kaitlyn McClure
Hi Grazielle,
We are students in the University of South Carolina’s Master of Speech Pathology program, and we were told we could access this site to gain some information about stuttering first hand.
First of all, we want to commend you on this poem! We could feel your passion through your words. It was truly beautiful to hear that all voices are equally important, not just the ones that are fluent. Reading things like this really helps us as SLP’s to understand our patients who stutter and how to best help them. Thanks so much for sharing your perspective!
Emily Szabo and Morgan Vachio
I like how you touch on the topic of, “What matters is what you say, not how you say it.” Also, “I’m a stutter, and I came to teach the world to hear,” is so powerful. If only the knowledge of stuttering was spread/increased in those who do not stutter, maybe we would not have to teach anyone to hear. Great poem!
Hello Grazielle! First, I want to thank you for sharing this amazing poem. I am a current graduate student studying to become a speech-language pathologist and your poem really spoke to me. I love the part where you say “Nice to meet you, I am a stutterer, and I came to teach the world to hear.” This part truly makes you think how those who stutter really make the rest of the world stop and work on active listening in order to truly listen to what is being said. I truly appreciate your openness and honesty you display in this poem.
Hi Grazielle,
Thank you for sharing such a personal and beautiful poem! I am a graduate student studying to become a speech-language pathologist, and your poem truly resonated with me. Your insights are so important for us as SLPs to gain insight and perspective when we work with people who stutter so we can know how best to support them. I especially liked the lines “I’ll raise my voice without embarrassment / Knowing that I also deserve to be heard.” This is so important, and simultaneously conveys empowerment and emotional aspect of the kinds of challenges faced by individuals in this community. Your words are powerful and passionate, and this poem is an inspiration that should be shared with other SLPs and people who stutter. Beautifully written, thank you again for sharing!
Hi Gazielle!
Thank you for this poem. It is so incredibly important. People today are so used to getting responses and having conversations so quickly, that it may not occur to them that someone may need longer to answer. People are so quick to finish sentences or ignore individuals who stutter and it is people like you who are changing the stigma. It is important for parents, teachers, doctors, clinicians and truly everyone to be aware of the time it takes for individuals who stutter to get their very valuable and worthy thoughts across.
Grazielle,
Thank you so much for sharing your poem with us. It makes me reflect, as a person who does not stutter, that I must be aware when I am silencing someone by being impatient, guessing what they are saying, or in any other way taking away from their independent ability to communicate with me and the world around us.
Grazielle,
This was extremely moving and powerful. I thought you were able to capture so much about your life in such a graceful manner. This made me reflect on how I treat people who stutters and I have to constantly remind myself that I do not need to speak for the person, rather they can speak for themselves. I am in graduate school to become a Speech-Language pathologist and I will keep this beautiful piece in mind when working with someone who stutters.
Grazielle,
Thank you for sharing your story/poem with us. Your line I want, I can, I will is such a power statement that should be shared even outside the stuttering community. You opened my eyes in such a little amount of words. Thank you.
Hi Graziella,
Your poem was amazing and beautiful. I felt the passion of every line in your poem. As a future speech-language pathologist, it is essential to know and understand our client’s thoughts and feelings. Your poem has given me a better insight into how I can treat and care for clients who stutter. Your lines “I don’t as you much. Just respect and patience” stood out to me the most because many individuals in today’s society do not show respect or have the patience for individuals who stutter. Thanks again for such a great poem!