Sunday 7 October 2012

In My Dreams

I dream alot.

Not the dreams of sleepy eyes and foggy brains
nor dreams of lottery wins and champagne days

I do not dream about being the first female president
nor do I dream about being a Downing street resident

I don't dream about having gifted children
who can build complex structures at ten

I do not dream about Louboutins and Jimmy Choos
though I would love to collect red soled shoes

I dream about simple things

I dream about being able to talk

talk without stoppages and disruptions

talk without fear of my emotions

talk regardless of my audience

talk without searching for alternative words

talk without you ending my sentences

talk without receiving pitiful looks

talk without being considered dumb

I dream about simple things

I dream about being able to talk


Hello, my name is Dibs, and I stammer.




19 comments:

  1. I'm not a stammerer (though I did have speech therapy as a child for a lisp), but your poem helped me understand a little bit of what the experience is like for you! Thanks for sharing that!

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    1. Thanks for reading it Gillian. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had gone through therapy as a child. Unfortunately in Cameroon, we do not really have stuff like that.

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  2. Good on you my friend, raising the awareness of disability and you are a great talented person no matter what others say.m

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    1. lol. Amah the matter be don di burn ma belle

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  4. What a powerful piece. Thanks for sharing Miss Dibs. You are gifted in so many different ways.

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    1. Habba Ofu, dis one weh you comment so na serious tin oh. lol. Thanks dear,

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  5. This made me weepy, Dibs. Wonderfully said!

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    1. Aww Mela. lol. I told you the hormones would make you cry at anything right?

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  6. Beautifully put, Ms Dibs. I have to say I never noticed your stammer. I do hope indeed that I never finished one of your sentences! I think its a great idea to put your hands up. I am thinking of doing the same. I have an 'essential tremor'. Most people assume I have the DTs for drinking too much. It's just a joke to many. Its not taken seriously because as you pointed out people don't know anything about it. x

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    1. hahahaha. No you did not. I think the more people know about things that affect other people, the more tolerant they will become.

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  7. Dibs, That was a beautiful poem. Thanks for sharing!
    and yes, I'd love to read your new blog too!

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    1. Thank you so much. It means so alot to me that you would want to know more about stammering.

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  8. Thank you for bringing this up. I stammered badly as a child. My mother sent me to
    speech therapy 30 miles away; we lived in the Jamaican country-side and therapy was in the capital. It took me over ten years to put what I learnt in therapy into practice, and I still have the occasional problem. I was speaking to a childhood friend some years ago who said, wow you don't stammer anymore so what did I do? I got nervous and stammered!!!

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    1. hahahahhaha. I think when we try too hard to avoid it, it becomes worse. then again, it is something that you can't really control 100% I think. Good for you. I wish I had access to speech therapy when I was younger. We just did not have those facilities back home in Cameroon.

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  9. Greetings, Dibs ~
    Good for you for writing (so beautifully, too) about your stammering! It seems more and more people are publicly addressing their brain > body issues with the only a tiny hope of acceptance, and are astonished at the amount of support they find.

    My former sister-in-law always ascribed her stammering to being forced(!) to use her right hand -a natural lefty- in grade school. Is that a theory you've encountered anywhere? I know there are many different core causes...

    Blessings, and Happy Winter Holiday of Your Choosing!

    Karen J

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