Shadow by Valerie Parente
The darkness pulls me
and you ask me why
I feel at home with it
then you fail to realize
it is my shadow that was always there
faithfully by my side
in celebration
of the light in my life.
Why don’t you see
I am as attached to the shadows
as they are attached to me?
– Valerie Parente (10-23-2026)
The Most Violent Social Conditioning by Valerie Parente
The mass brainwashing done to women
to get them to share tips on malnutrition
without any shame or indifference
has to be the most violent social conditioning
thrust upon every young girl listening
yet somehow we convinced them
to equate dying with discipline
and in my painfully honest opinion
this is the most covert form of femicide in all of existence.
Somehow pointing this out makes you the villain…
well, wouldn’t you rather be seen as wicked
if that’s the world we have to live in?
– Valerie Parente (10-16-2026)
Incantations by Valerie Parente
Where there is language, there is a pulse
and my pain is copyrighted on my tongue
maybe that’s why I’ve learned to love
the distinct taste of my own blood.
We made symbols for what we were hearing
we strung those symbols together to create meaning
we morphed meanings with rhyme and reason
until we made something to believe in.
They’re called spells for witches
they’re religion for linguistics
for poets, something mystic
God only knows the difference.
We speak these conditions
carefully into existence
the universe’s heuristics
have no concept of distance.
The rhymes and their placement
passed down generations
the craft of narration
in all its incantations.
Weak men call it a dark art
when women have wisdom to impart
from the larynx it departs
to the rhythm of their heart.
It’s a craft, nonetheless
but there’s nothing nefarious
it’s when we use our dialect
that it’s the ultimate catharsis.
– Valerie Parente (10-14-2026)
We Are Not The Same by Valerie Parente
Worst case scenario for him
is he gets named.
Worst case scenario for her
is she gets shamed
is forever maimed
has a psychotic break
never again feels safe
and is irreparably changed.
We are not the same.
– Valerie Parente (9-29-2026)
Inkling by Valerie Parente
Since I was a little girl
I never really had a type
instead I had an inkling
a vision in my third eye
it didn’t have an opinion
about what I currently liked
what it had was a mission
a mission to remind
a hint from the future
telling me what I would find
and when I finally saw it
I was able to recognize
its flow like poetry
beyond reason and rhyme
like an answer to a prayer
except I was the shrine
because a part of my higher self
unconstrained by the flow of time
was able to reach down
and give me subtle signs
and I was crazy enough
to believe they were right.
You can call it self-fulfilling
you can say it’s unjustified
but it was an inkling
a cursive I would write
intentional and meaningful
nothing short of design
and I had to experience the world
in front of my eyes
to discover that fate
was really just insight.
– Valerie Parente (9-27-2026)
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)
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 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
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 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)
