Silver Chains

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Silver Chains by Valerie Parente

This silver-lining
made out of silver chains
I feel so lovely
but a little afraid.

Just like the moon
with a silver face
I feel the light
through the night’s haze.

For so long
I’ve been constrained
“Don’t feel too much”
now it’s okay.

My silver tongue
makes a new phrase
as my poetry
feels the change.

This silver-lining
made out of silver chains
like a pretty puppet
of the moon’s phase.

Don’t get me wrong
this is not a complaint
it’s my favorite problem
I’ve ever faced.

– Valerie Parente (3-18-2021)

The Key To Empathy

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The Key To Empathy by Valerie Parente

It’s not narcissism
it’s recognizing your pain
as it is a mirror
of my mental state.

It’s empathy
individualized
when I look
into your eyes.

I don’t reach this understanding
by thinking about my soul
I reach it
when I see you have your own.

– Valerie Parente (3-18-2021)

Masquerade

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Masquerade by Valerie Parente

She tried to be a mystery
but no one cared.
She tried to be a hero
to her own despair.
She tried to be a celebrity
but the views weren’t there.

When she gave up the masquerade
you could finally see her eyes
and the windows of her soul
were one of a kind.

– Valerie Parente (3-17-2021)

Heart On Your Sleeve

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Heart On Your Sleeve by Valerie Parente

It’s your choice
if you want to wear your heart on your sleeve
but don’t be surprised
when people see it bleed.
And I’m so sorry
if I traumatized you when I was in pain
but I can’t hide my feelings
without going insane.
I’m making that choice
to once again wear my heart on my sleeve
so don’t be afraid
when you see the heartbeat.

– Valerie Parente (3-16-2021)


Strength Today

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Strength Today by Valerie Parente

It killed me back then
but I’m so alive now
I didn’t carry myself up
to burrow back in the ground.

You say I’m going easy
but I think I’m going strong
because I’ve taken what I’ve learned
and moved myself along.

I didn’t know I’d be validated
back when I found my strength
and that’s why I can handle
whatever comes today.

I don’t see the point
in making someone sad about the past
when they express an understanding
of the things that have passed.
Why would I want
to ignore the happiness I feel today
and spoil the present
in the name of former heartache?
My heartache doesn’t own me,
I am owned by my strength,
and my strength is telling me
it’s okay to celebrate.
That’s the thing about happiness,
it’s kind of like pain,
you have to choose to let it in,
and that’s a choice I’m willing to make.

– Valerie Parente (3-16-2021)

You Look Like You’ve Seen A Ghost

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You Look Like You’ve Seen A Ghost by Valerie Parente

It’s very surreal
when the thing that haunted you for 10 months
is confirmed to be real.

It’s very relieving
when the thing that made you question your sanity
was worth believing.

It’s very humbling
when the thing you swore you knew beyond a doubt
was not for nothing.

It’s very comforting
when the hurt and the heal and the hope you achieved
has a little company.

– Valerie Parente (3-15-2021)

Moonchild Manifesto

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Moonchild Manifesto by Valerie Parente

You are a Moonchild.
You embody moods like phases in orbital rotations.
Every moving body comes in cycles
around a world you set your mind to.
That’s when the words begin to flow
like the tides under your gravitational pull.
You fall and you feel and you break,
wondering how others could be so unfazed.
Because you are in love night and day
while the rest are just lost in space.

– Valerie Parente (2-23-2021)

No Longer Playing With Fire

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No Longer Playing With Fire by Valerie Parente

She was playing with fire
for so long
so she wasn’t really sure
how to stop
igniting flames out of pain
to create art
making a hellscape from words
that came from the spark
but now that the hell she felt
is dead and gone
and it’s time for learning
in the place she taught
because when she was in pain
she felt smart
but now that there’s joy
she’s a little lost
no longer playing with fire
to light up the dark
maybe one day at a time
is a good start
leaving the ashes behind
along with the scars
because the spark has returned
to where it belongs
and no fire will run wild
for it’s safe in her heart.

– Valerie Parente (3-14-2021)

I Want To Coexist

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I Want To Coexist by Valerie Parente

Letting myself be happy
because of someone I love
is my most difficult struggle
because if I let someone bring me happiness
then what’s to stop them from taking it away?
And I don’t want to be a hostage
of someone else’s mind-frame.

I want to love again
but I don’t want to relearn
my life’s hardest lesson.
How do people do it?
How do people have relationships without surrendering their sanity?
I wish I could do it.
I wish I could do it and feel free.
And maybe my problem
is that I think in extremes,
but how am I supposed to love someone
outside of me
without making myself
their responsibility?

If I’m being perfectly honest,
I want to coexist.
I guess I just have to find that balance.

– Valerie Parente (3-11-2021)

Graffiti

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Graffiti by Valerie Parente

Like a graffiti artist
envisioning a new canvas
I saw the writing on the wall
and I was terrified me from the start.
Even though I love to paint my pain
I had never been more afraid
because I knew that space will never be pure again
I got something beautiful at a monumental expense.

– Valerie Parente (3-10-2021)