I am not a Stutterer – Ruth Osornio

About the Author:

Ruth Osornio is a recent Summa Cum Laude graduate from California State University, Fullerton, with a Bachelors of the Arts in Communicative Disorders. She currently holds her SLPA License and is an aspiring SLP and University Professor. She has a fervent desire to interact more with the stuttering community and was inspired to create this poem on the basis of her childhood friends who stutter and her 2-year long University Honors Research Project on gender biases and stuttering. When Ruth does not have her head in the books, she enjoys singing and voice-acting. She is especially fascinated by the phenomenon of how singing affects stuttering.

Introductory Statement

The change I wish to see is a world where people who stutter are being heard. A world where their voices matter and people stop to take the time to listen. A world where people who stutter find strength within themselves to speak their mind. A world where people who do not stutter treat people who do stutter with the dignity they deserve.

 

I Am Not a Stutterer

I am not a stutterer.

I am a person who stutters.

My voice is trapped within my body, but

there is fire burning bright inside.

Just because my speech isn’t fluid doesn’t mean I’m not worth a try.

I see your face. I watch reaction.

I see a snicker. I see dissatisfaction. 

There is beauty within if you would just listen.

The time it takes to hear me out is worth the treasure that lies within.

When I sing, you listen as the melodies fill my lungs and free my speech.

When my song is done and I start to talk,

I look up but no one is here to flock. 

Why must it only be a melody in which I sing that pierces your heart?

Why must my soul cry in song, but once done no one finds that I belong? 

Listen please. Listen now.

 I would even shout if it changed the fluidity.

But alas, my voice is left without a tone.

I am lost within my humanity. 

Yet, I dream of a world in which this is not so. 

Where I speak and others listen. 

But…it starts with me to create a fire.

A small spark to set the Earth ablaze.

How can society change without me changing first?

Hence, I will not hold my tongue.

Whether song or speech there is beauty within.

So, listen to my beautiful fire.

 

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Comments

I am not a Stutterer – Ruth Osornio — 37 Comments

  1. Hello,

    Welcome to my poem. Thank you so much for taking the time to read the words that need to spread like a wild fire!

  2. Beautiful poem! You have a way with words.
    You are a wonderful ally to the stuttering community and we are glad to hold hands with you.

    Pam

  3. Ruth,
    Your poem is beautiful! The line that really resonanted with me was “How can society change without me changing first? Hence, I will not hold my tongue.” There is so much power behind that line. THank you for sharing!!

    • Hi Brittany,

      Thank you so much! That is one of my favorite lines too since it is true how can we expect other people to accept who we are unless we accept our true authentic selves 🙂

  4. This is such a beautiful poem! Every line has their own powerful meaning and I just really appreciate this Poem so much! You are incredibly beautiful and thank you so much for sharing this to us!

    • I really appreciate your comment ☺ And I’m really glad you find power within my words. Thank you!

  5. This poem is so beautiful and empowering! I love the line that says “Whether song or speech there is beauty within.” Very touching and powerful. Your wording really carries so much inspiration. Thank you!

  6. Hey Ruth! Such a wonderful poem, and perfectly to the point, surprisingly coming from a person who does not stutter. Thank you for this great piece. I am glad to have known you.

    • Thank you so much ☺ Putting myself in someone else’s shoes helps me throughout my life and while conducting therapy!

  7. Hi Ruth, thank you so much for sharing this beautiful poem. Your words are so impactful. I’m reaching out as a fellow Titan, in my second year as a COMD post baccalaureate student at CSUF!

    I loved learning in your “About the Author” section that you enjoy singing and voice-acting, and you’re interested in how singing affects stuttering. I’m curious, did you do any research on this during your time at CSUF? Have you participated in any classes or extended education to learn more about this phenomenon? It sounds so interesting to learn more about.

    Thanks in advance for your time and thoughts!

    Bree

    • Hi Bree,

      That is so awesome! I love CSUF 🙂 I was an Honor Scholar, so it was mandatory for us to design and conduct a senior honors research project. However professors such Dr. Kim and Dr. Tsao (who was my mentor) usually have research studies to participate in you just have to ask and see what they say 🙂 If you have any further questions my Instagram is princessruthella. As far as the singing aspect I learned about it from one of my fellow Honor Scholar’s projects. I believe it is due to a different part of the brain being used. They’ll talk about this more in your fluency class. One of my friends who stutters is an amazing singer, but she only stutters during a conversation and not on stage.

  8. Hi Ruth! Wow! This poem is so powerful! When writing this, was it therapeutic? I bet it felt very freeing! I wish the people around us in our everyday lives would be more accepting of our differences rather than jumping to judgement. Thank you for sharing this beautiful poem!

    • Hi George,

      I am actually not a person who stutters, but I have friends who do and I’m a SLPA. One of my research participants reached out to me to submit a piece for this conference and so I did once she approved of my final draft. As a person who doesn’t stutter, I wish more people were accepting and less judgmental, but it does seem like the world is changing for the better in terms of how we treat one another:)

  9. Yes – your conclusion is the ultimate empowering message to anyone who holds back from speaking – just speak however you speak! Hiding a difference or variation is actually fuelling stigma. Use the fire within you to speak and blast stigma into oblivion!
    Fantastic!

  10. Hi Ruth,

    What a beautiful poem! The lines that struck out to me the most were “There is beauty within if you would just listen.” and “The time it takes to hear me out is worth the treasure that lies within.” This poem has a powerful message, thank you for sharing!

    Ashlynn

    • Thank you so much Ashlynn! All of us are important and have a story to share, but society needs to open their ears to listen.

  11. Hi Ruth!

    Fellow Titan here! What a beautiful poem to read. I am currently in my last semester studying COMD and will be starting my Master’s program in the spring! The first two lines of this poem are so powerful.
    What do you think is the best way as future clinicians to help empower PWS during therapy? (the emotional aspect of it)

    Suzanne Perez

    • Hi Suzanne,

      Congratulations! The best way for us as clinicians to empower PWS is to not see stuttering as a defect to fix. For the most part stuttering is not curable and therefore it’s our job to help them with tips and tricks for fluency shaping, but we need to help them realize it’s OK to stutter and make them feel comfortable and confident even when they stutter! When I interviewed PWS for my research the SLPs didn’t treat them like humans and just saw them as data points. That is why I noted “I am not a stutterer” and put that “I am a person who stutters.” The person (human) part is what matters most when we do therapy.

  12. Hi Ruth,

    I am currently a graduate student studying speech-language pathology. I also enjoy learning about the stuttering community. I thought your poem was well written and had an empowering message. A line that really stuck out to me was “Why must my soul cry in song, but once done no one finds that I belong?” Thank you for sharing!

  13. Hi Ruth!

    I currently am a Titan here at CSUF! I loved reading your poem, it’s inspiring and beautiful. As a future SLP I hope our paths cross, your poem is truly inspiring.

    • Hi fellow Titan,

      You’re going to amazing University! Best of luck and crossing paths with a like minded furture SLP would be awesome:)

  14. Hi Ruth!
    Wow! What a beautifully written poem. As an SLP graduate student I find it extremely important to spread awareness about stuttering and what PWS go through with unaware members of society. Thank you for sharing your inspiring words.

    • Hi Lauren,

      Thank you so much for your kind feedback! Spreading awareness has many forms and artistic expressions are one of my favorite ways to spread a message.

  15. Hi Ruth!
    This is a beautiful poem. I love how you used your creativity and inspiring words to spread awareness about such an important topic. Thank you so much for sharing!

  16. I love your poem, Ruth! There’s so much pride in it, which is what so many PWS need to hear, feel and express themselves. If people would only give us time to speak, and they would listen to our words, no matter how they are spoken, they would all be warmed by our beautiful fire. <3 Thanks for sharing your poem and I hope you will recite it on many occasions, as it opens up doors for so many.

    Keep talking and keep writing

    Anita

  17. I loved this poem! It explained so well the feelings within someone who stutters. It gave a great picture in my mind while I read it. I read it multiple times and every time something different stood out to me. I think my favorite part was,” When I sing, you listen as the melodies fill my lungs and free my speech. When my song is done and I start to talk, I look up but no one is here to flock.” Such beautiful words put together for such a meaningful line. Thank you for letting us read this and thank you for advocating for those who can not!

    Chloe T.

    • Thank you for your kind words Chloe…that line is one of my favorites too since I want people to understand that there is more to a person who stutters especially a singer who stutters than just mere entertainment. There is a human who needs to be heard and not only that…listened to.

  18. I loved this beautiful poem. It is so easy for people to define you as something that is just a small part of you. I think your poem has so much power to aid in the understanding of stuttering to people who stutter and people who do not. Thank you for sharing your talents with the world.

    • Hi Katherine,

      Thank you for your reply and yes I was aiming to write something that expressed the inner feelings of someone who stutters and empowers them, but also gives people who don’t stutter at glance at someone else’s life, so they will try to listen to others because it is important to be heard.

  19. Ruth,

    Thank you so much for sharing this poem. You are such an incredible writer and the message is so impactful. I loved the lines that said, “Yet, I dream of a world in which this is not so. Where I speak and others listen.” When I read this I had to stop and sit with it a while. Because it is such a simple ask, one that should not need to be requested at all. When we speak the purpose is to communicate something to others. We should value what people have to say no matter the fluency of their speech. It is so disrespectful to disregard someone when their words don’t sound exactly like yours. I really loved reading this poem and the beautiful perspective it presents.

    -Cappi Priola

    • Thank you Cappi…it’s unfortunate how there are many in this world who are not alloted what seems “simple” to others. That is why we must be always cautious of our own actions and listen to other’s stories who are different from us and learn what it like to be them in order to better ourselves.