Toxins by Valerie Parente
I became the person I tried not to be
because it got way too hard being me.
– Valerie Parente (12-12-2019)
Sad Truth
Sad Truth by Valerie Parente
“What did I do to deserve such disrespect?”
“You loved someone who doesn’t even love themself.”
– Valerie Parente (12-9-2019)
Boys
Boys by Valerie Parente
The teacher turned to the schoolgirls, “And what do we say when boys break our hearts?”
The girls raised their hands, “They get rid of our writer’s block.”
– Valerie Parente (12-8-2019)
Noble
Noble by Valerie Parente
If you think you’re doing me some kind of noble favor by cutting me out of your life with no explanation why then you’re wrong…
… the noble thing to do would be to look me in the fucking eyes and tell me “goodbye.”
– Valerie Parente (12-6-2019)
Grand Scheme
Grand Scheme by Valerie Parente
I always felt like my mind was too big to fit inside me
that any attempt at fully articulating my thoughts would surely be a masterpiece
because the universe is always trying to whisper her poetry
and if I can capture just one conscious stream
then all the world’s pain would be worth it in the grand scheme.
– Valerie Parente (12-3-2019)
Rise Above
Rise Above by Valerie Parente
You beat me to the punch
Knocked me upside the head
But I got off the ground once
I can do it again.
– Valerie Parente (11-29-2019)
Resilience
Resilience by Valerie Parente
The signs were pretty clear
when I cried out for help
and you pretended not to hear
when I scratched myself
then wiped blood on the mirror.
Did you really want to be the one
to teach me that life isn’t fair
to teach me that nobody really cares
to teach me that the world owes me nothing
and that I will always have to fight for my fair share.
Today I’m going to vent
but tomorrow I’ll get even,
because I’m done with this abusive environment
and how you broke me in pieces.
So many pieces of me
but you’re the one who broke
you let your ugly run free
through every word that you spoke.
The sharpest pieces of me
I’ll use those shards to slit your throat
and nobody else will have to be
a punchline to your cruel jokes.
– Valerie Parente (11-27-2019)
Projection
Projection by Valerie Parente
you never really did care, did you?
it was never about my feelings
it was about abiding your ego
and the anxiety that makes it seem whole
when in reality you’ve just been stuffing fear into a structure you call personality
fear of intimacy
fear of commitment
fear of emotions
it was never really about me not being good enough
it was about you maintaining your phobias.
– Valerie Parente (11-25-2019)
Emotional Depth
Emotional Depth by Valerie Parente
On the nights I can’t express myself
It’s because I feel underwhelmed.
The world of feelings is my fuel
and I’ll be damned if I don’t bruise.
If there is no emotional depth
then I am nothing but useless.
– Valerie Parente (11-24-2019)
Figure Out Your Feelings
Figure Out Your Feelings by Valerie Parente
I hate when people pretend to feel neutral about something
when they already care.
And I hate when you pretend not to want me
then miss me when I’m not there.
Please figure out your feelings
because I don’t know how much more I can bare.
– Valerie Parente (11-24-2019)
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