Have you forgotten your name?

This poem is for all the people who have asked me that shameful question; ‘Have you forgotten your name?’ 

These people ask the nonsensical question that if it takes me a second longer to say my name, I must be slow or stupid and that I have forgotten my name, my identity and a part of myself. I decided to turn this question on its head and suggest that because I do know my name, regardless of if I stutter or not, it reminds me that I am loved. The name that my parents chose for me because they had to call me something memorable. That the people who see past my slow speech, my stumbles and breaks in my words, are the ones who I should be giving my time to. So, please, if you struggle to say your own name, you are still worthy of love and be to accepted into this world. That the people who look past your stutter, are the ones who accept you for all you are and those who don’t are not worthy of your time. Pay no head to those who suggest that you could have forgotten your name and even more your identity. Because as Dr Seuss once said;

Made using Befunky

Have you forgotten your name?

These words,
This question,
This suggestion,
that I am stupid,
that I could forget my identity,
that I could forget a part of me.

My name is stuck in my mouth,
trying to come out,
while you stare at me,
about to laugh,
about to crack a joke,
that I forgot my name.

Oh the shame,
of the silence that surrounds me,
as I try to breathe my name out,
but without a shred of doubt,
that I couldn’t forget my name,
even if I wanted to,
because similar to you,
my name is used by my family,
by my friends,
it reminds me that I am loved.