Crown – Shiran Israel

Shiran IsraelAbout the Author:

Shiran Israel, age 37, is married, has two daughters, is a person who stutters and a member of the Israeli Stuttering Association. She has a B.A in Psychology and Economics, and an M.A in Behavioral Economics.

She is currently working towards publishing a research she performed as part of her degree thesis, about the effect of Mindfulness, self compassion and decentering on the experience of stuttering.

Below is a poem I wrote, and it represents the change I want to see. I want PWS to have options, and to know that concealing stuttering is not the only option. In my poem I go from the end to the beginning – to be a person who stutters, who faces daily challenges and makes peace with yourself every day. You need someone who would tell you that stuttering is OK. I truly believe that stuttering therapy should be based on this, and the SLP could be that person.

For me, a crown is a symbol of strength, pride and authority- I take control of the way I respond to my stuttering, and I choose to do it with pride. I would love to hear the readers’ thoughts and views about what it means to them.



CROWN

I wear my stuttering as a crown,

with pride,

like a medal of honor given after war.

For each morning I go to battle

and return home in the evening bearing peace.

And still after decades of fighting,

my heart never goes numb,

my mind never grows weary,

and each scar reminds me what are the stakes.

So every morning I wake up

and wear my stuttering as a crown.

Because someone told me I could.

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Comments

Crown – Shiran Israel — 33 Comments

  2. Dear Shiran,

    Your poem is beautiful and brought me to tears. Tears of joy and pride. Thank you for your leadership, thank you for the poem.

    Hanan

  3. Shiran,

    This is so wonderful, heartfelt and honest. It was so lovely meeting you over Zoom recently. Speaking to you and reading your poem (again) helps me truly understand your triumphs.

    I wrote a poem and “performed” it at a Spoken Word event at the 2019 NSA Conference. Coincidentally, I also referred to my stuttering as “my crown”.
    Great minds think alike.

    Pam

    • Hi Pam, it’s amazing how we’re all so different yet have this connection! It was a pleasure meeting you and talking to you. Thank you so much for everything you do!

  4. “and each scar reminds me what are the stakes”

    This is the part that struck me.There are great accomplishments ahead of us, and if only we would allow our scars to spur us on the missions that lie ahead of us,we would always wear our stammer as a crown.

    Thank you for this beautiful poem Shiran, and keep doing what you do.

    Elias.

    • Thank you so much, Elias. Yes, I think our scars are part of us. they can hold us back or turn into our ignition…

  5. Hi Shiran,

    This is such a beautiful metaphor for stuttering. Thank you for crafting this piece!

  6. As a future SLP, I really appreciate reading the experiences of people who stutter. Your stutter is a part of you and instead it being something therapists teach you to hide… we need to be instead an ally on your journey to empowerment. Thank you for sharing this poem.

    • I totally agree! For too long I thought that therapists are there to “fix” me. And only by working the Israeli Stuttering Association I have come to know SLPs who, like you, want to learn about stuttering and realise that helping is not merely teaching fluency techniques. It’s such an important job to be an SLP of PWS! God bless!

  7. Hi, Shiran!

    This is a beautiful poem. Your lines, “and still after decades of fighting, my heart never goes numb,” stuck out to me. Thank you for this insight. I feel PWS’s experiences can be easily brushed off by others, but it is important for us to still recognize the validity and continuation of your experience.

    Kylee

    • Thank you Kayla! This is why this community is so important.It really does sometimes seems like nobody else get it.

  8. Shiran, this poem was awesome to read. I found it very touching with many of the lines standing out to me. The line that stood out the most to me was “and still after decades of fighting, my never never goes numb.” It was very heartfelt to read and made me appreciate you and this poem. Thanks for sharing!

  9. Hi Shiran! This poem is so powerful! I love that you turned something that some people look in a negative aspect into something so beautiful! Choosing to wear that crown is something that not everyone who stutters can do. Continue to wear that crown and be an example to others! I’m currently in graduate school to be a Speech-Language Pathologist and cannot wait to share this poem with my clients who stutter to encourage them!

    • Thank you so much George!
      I met so many people who inspired me, I’m glad to pass it on 🙂 best of luck!

  10. Hi Shiran,
    I love your poem because I love how you embrace your stuttering and you are not ashamed of it.

  11. Hi Shiran,
    I loved reading your poem! It is truly inspiring and powerful. Everyone has different types of crowns I loved how you described how yours is!

    • Thank you!! It’s a very interesting point of view… we all indeed have our battles and crowns to wear.

  12. Shiran,

    This poem was strikingly beautiful. I am an SLP graduate student and what truly struck me was the line:
    “So every morning I wake up
    and wear my stuttering as a crown.
    Because someone told me I could.”
    All it takes is one person to tell someone that they are worthy for them to know it. To think that I could be that person for someone is incredible. It truly makes you aware of your words and actions. Would you mind sharing who that person was for you who helped you to “wear your stuttering as a crown”?

    Thank you for sharing!
    Kelsey

    • Hi Kelsey!
      That’s exactly the point. That we all can show other people who stutter different ways to handle it.
      For me, it was Hanan Hurwitz who actually showed me that stuttering can go together with pride.
      I’m so happy to see SLP graduate students here.

  13. Wow, Shiran. What a gem! With so few words you say so much! You sure wear your stuttering like a crown and I hope that all of us who read your poem will stop looking down. The words that echo the most are the last ones: because someone told me I could. This is what our Stamily is about. <3

    Keep talking and writing poetry

    Anita

  14. Hello Shiran,

    Thank you so much for sharing that poem, it helps me to look at my stuttering in a more positive way! I am usually trying to hide my stutter as much as possible and therefore miss opportunities in life. I am currently listening to the women who stutter episode that you recently did. You are truly an inspiration!
    I love that you embrace your stuttering and I hope to move forward and get there as well.

    Karina

    • How lovely to hear, Karina! I really get what you’re going through, it’s choosing each time all over again whether to hide or dive deep into water – for me too.

  15. Shiran,
    I love this! Especially when you wrote: “and still after decades of fighting, my heart never goes numb” I found it very touching. Thank you for sharing your beautiful and powerful words.

  16. Love this so much! Your words are so true. Your line that says “For each morning I go to battle and return home in the evening bearing peace” is very powerful to readers. It shows that you are proud of who you are no matter what the world thinks!

  17. Beautifully said! Your words are truly empowering and inspiring to those who are still on their journey of finding their own self-confidence. Thank you for sharing your words with us!

    • Thank you so much! I’m still making choices every day and trying to make the best ones, so we’re all in this together…