You Birth Flowers When You Speak

You Birth Flowers When You Speak
This is what one teacher said, he said
you birth flowers when you speak, pulled
a bouquet from the ground of his lips
with a pursed hand.
Moss carpeted the inner walls of my
throat, and no sound could escape
the roots tangling my tongue, a field
of grass having already loamed in my
mouth, my voice muffled by wild
petals blooming.
- Moudi Sbeity

If you’ve attended any of my workshops you’ve most likely heard me disclose about my speech with an invitation to use any form of a stutter as a cue to breath mindfully. I do the same thing in class, or any circle I am a part of, but not always. There are days when I can get by covertly. There are times, when performing a poem for instance, when I don’t stutter. I don’t like saying this, but I celebrate those days. I feel more confident then, a bit more taller in my speech. For covert stutterers, you never know when it might show up. Not only is it a condition, but a relationship that varies widely from day to day, from situation to situation. So often, I’ll bring it up with people I admire or seek counsel from. As I did this day with a teacher. His response settled in as true, and I knew he meant it. This redefines fluency for me not as uninterrupted speech, but perhaps truthful speech, beautiful speech, words that are said honestly and with intention.

With this I also want to share a video made by composer, friend, and person who stutters, Luke Wyland. Luke works with SPACE, a non-profit organization that focuses on stuttering and the arts. He helped put together their Library of Dysfluent Voices and recently created this video using part of my audio recording. Have a listen.

📚Join me on August 15th from 10 - 12 MDT for a Book Tour Workshop / Fundraiser. I’ll be reading from my forthcoming books, offering prompts, and then opening up space to share. Sign up here: https://habibialhamdulillah.eventbrite.com

Thank you to all who signed up and contributed. I’m almost half way to my goal. With deep gratitude <3