Undying Wish by Valerie Parente
The best thing you can do
for the loved ones you lose
is live the very best life
you’re able to.
– Valerie Parente (9-19-2026)
Undying Wish
Smile!
Smile!
by Valerie Parente
Why does he care
if I smile
without caring
about what makes me smile?
Something about the curvature of my mouth
makes him feel better about himself.
They say this is a man’s world
and this man’s world is burning
but if I can’t smile on command
that’s more concerning
because then we would have to address
that this world is inadequate
but they want us complacent
so they tell us to fake it
but by all means, it’s reprehensible
if a woman doesn’t smile against her will.
– Valerie Parente (9-18-2026)
Kintsugi
Kintsugi by Valerie Parente
I am still beautiful
even though I am broken
paint these cracks you see
with something golden.
When I broke
it was really an opportunity
for something valuable
to seep inside of me.
My life is richer
because of my flaws
dying pristine and perfect
would mean I didn’t get too far.
– Valerie Parente (9-7-2026)
When I Met You I Became Brave
When I Met You I Became Brave
by Valerie Parente
When I met you I became brave
I became someone who moves forward
even though they’re afraid.
It’s not an absence of fear
it’s just fear with a name
because my world became whole
and now that I know the stakes
I choose to live in spite of the fear
I choose to keep going anyway.
And that, to me, is what it means to be brave,
to be someone who looks forward
to the next day.
– Valerie Parente (8-29-2026)
Vigil
Vigil by Valerie Parente
I mourn all the art
that doesn’t see the light of day.
I mourn all the words
that go unread on a page.
I mourn all the means of expression
that get stifled within.
I mourn all the girls who play dumb
and turn codependent.
I mourn all the universe’s signs
that people ignore.
I mourn all the sullen voices
begging to be heard.
We hold these vigils
to guide the way for those lost
may the light of a trillion candles
illuminate their path out the dark.
– Valerie Parente (8-29-2026)
Victim not Villain
Victim not Villain
by Valerie Parente
If a woman asks for help
time and time again
pleading and begging
in desperation
and the system ignores her
until she gives in
then she is more of a victim
than she is a villain.
And all these men in suits
are playing willfully ignorant
saying the madness in it all
is the empathetic women
not the failing system
they so pitifully defend.
They’d rather protect the patriarchy
than protect a fellow human.
So which one is it?
Which one is it then?
Hateful monsters?
Hysterical and overreacting?
Either we’re weak minded and vulnerable
or we’re the spawns of Satan
but you can’t have it both ways
then offer no solution.
– Valerie Parente (8-26-2026)
Skeletons (Girls Like Playing 1)
Skeletons (Girls Like Playing 1)
by Valerie Parente
All these women
hooked on GLP1s
playing anorexic
simply for the fun
reaping the side effects
of starvation
brain fog and sunken cheeks
bone deterioration
but it’s okay when they do it
with a doctor’s authorization
a society of zombies
that’s the motivation
no we aren’t supposed to look like skeletons
but Girls Like Playing 1.
– Valerie Parente (8-17-2026)
Energy Never Dies
Energy Never Dies
by Valerie Parente
If energy never dies
then energy never begins
if energy never begins
then energy is everlasting.
I don’t exist for a certain amount of time
I exist
and there is nothing more to define.
– Valerie Parente (8-15-2026)
Survivor
Survivor
by Valerie Parente
I am not a victim
I am a survivor.
I am not that broken little girl
I am the one who revived her.
I am not my circumstance
I am the good it inspired.
I am not worse for it all
I am the wiser.
I don’t remember the pain you gave me
I remember the power I acquired
because when the darkness came for me
I lit up like a fire.
– Valerie Parente (8-9-2026)
Poiesis (Life is the Art)
Poiesis
(Life is the Art)
by Valerie Parente
I only fear death
when I think of all the art left unfinished.
But life is no conquest
it has design, that of an artist.
So when their tears fall
like paint, they’ll fall for me
when their tears fall
my greatest masterpiece will be complete.
– Valerie Parente (8-6-2026)
