Do They Think?

By Jim Abbott

Oft times I meet
Someone on the street
That acts put off by the way that I speak
And somewhere, someday, somehow, someway
This is what I would like to say
To those who choose to treat me that way
It's plain to see
Quite obvious to me
That you don't like my stuttered speech
But the question that I pose to you
Is "do you honestly think that I do"?
Do you think for a moment that I didn't hate
The laughing & giggling that I had to face
When my name was called upon to read in school?
Do you think I liked being treated as a fool?
Do you think I like to see
People looking at me
So impatiently
As I struggle to say certain words
Do you think for a moment I would still choose to stutter
If fluent speech was something I could learn?
Do you think I get a thrill
From the embarrassment I feel

When I'm unable to say my own name? Do you think I get a kick?
Don't you think I might be sick
Of having to make those phone calls that bring me such pain?
It is no doubt at times, not an easy thing
To have to listen to me while I am stuttering
But imagine what it's like from where I sit
You see, there is no magic pill
I've always stuttered, I always will
That's just the way it is
SO DEAL WITH IT!!!!!!