WITCH by Valerie Parente
If I was held accountable
for all my INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS
they’d burn me at the stake
then call it an ACT of GOD.
– Valerie Parente (11-1-2022)
Category: Poetry
Caution Tape
Caution Tape by Valerie Parente
There’s caution tape
inside my mind
a labyrinth
of words and lines
wrapped around
like ivy or twine
and I don’t know
if I’m the type
to make the most
of warning signs
or if I’m simply
one of a kind
in a maze of trickery
I accidentally cosigned.
Maybe it’s wrong
maybe it’s right
maybe caution tape
is just a means to highlight
the potential in the darkness
that I can’t see inside
so I stand here guessing
what fate might decide.
– Valerie Parente (10-8-2022)
Paint The Stars With Blood (Part I) [A Fantasy Chronicle]
Paint The Stars With Blood (Part I) [A Fantasy Chronicle] by Valerie Parente
Elissa painted the stars with her blood
back when she was numb
a little crimson magic
for the sky’s fabric
stained on purpose
because the creepers said it would be worth it
so she fulfilled that prophecy
when she was so damn naive
illuminating the region
with stars the shapes of demons
but the sun eventually rose
and she could see she was alone
that’s when she found the strength
to no longer identify with pain
it was the bravest thing she ever did
deciding she was more than her emotions.
– Valerie Parente (9-6-2022)
the illness that wants me all to itself
the illness that wants me all to itself by Valerie Parente
There are voices in my head
that do not belong to me
and when you ask how I feel
I can feel them speak.
There is a pattern in the language
so ripe with irony,
“To be sick is strong,
to be healthy is weak.
The pain finds a cure
when you cut skin deep.
To be sober is trapped,
to be drunk is free.
When you avoid your fears
their power depletes.”
It’s as if by design,
this backwards philosophy,
and I have to share a home
with the voices on repeat.
But I am no lost cause,
I can still find my speech
and maybe that’s why
I can write it so easily.
This illness wants me all to itself
but it will never have entirety
because as long as I have a pen
I can differentiate between
a voice in my head
and the words that compete.
– Valerie Parente (8-20-2022)
Haunted, Not Want It
Haunted, Not Want It by Valerie Parente
It’s not that I’m not over it,
it’s that I never got closure from it.
It’s not that I want what I almost had,
it’s that I’m haunted by the way it passed.
It’s never my intention to turn around,
I just wanna make the old me proud…
When it’s hard to tell the difference
between what you want
and what continues to haunt
I ask myself, am I the host or the witness
of a truth in my heart
or an obsessive thought?
The answer is always the same:
when I was half this age
I wanted exactly what I have in this day,
this longing is an addiction so dishonest
a state of mind of the haunted
and it can be debunked in this way:
having gratitude for today.
– Valerie Parente (8-19-2022)
Fire Games
Fire Games by Valerie Parente
“The thing about playing with fire,”
remarked the squire,
“is that, make no doubt,
you will get burnt out.
You played games
with dangerous flames
for over a decade
and you forgot that burns
never fully fade.
Be cool with your words,
you aren’t the young blood you once were.”
– Valerie Parente (8-5-2022)
Starry Eyed
Starry Eyed by Valerie Parente
Stardust on my eyes
pretend I am surprised
by the darkness of the night
when you know damn well I’m starry eyed.
I would never see
the constellations and their beauty
without the contrast of the night
black like the pupils in my eyes.
Rejoice my friend
this is all our eyes’ reflection
light and dark are the same principle
and from here on out you are invincible.
– Valerie Parente (7-30-2022)
Thunderstorm Ritual
Thunderstorm Ritual by Valerie Parente
The thunderstorm ritual,
light a candle,
open the windows,
and with every flash,
wait for the clap,
because this life,
its lightening fast,
written in the stars,
there is a crack,
striking a light,
from your past,
it already happened,
but it comes back,
the flicker of a moment,
never loses its impact.
Revel in the storm
like it’s your last.
– Valerie Parente (7-16-2022)
SALVATION (A Mask)
SALVATION (A Mask) by Valerie Parente
Saving lives
and ruining lives
are two very different things
but often the ones who promise salvation
are the ones that follow it with condemnation
and it is this very intolerance
that muddies all common sense.
They say they want to help
by creating a concept of hell
but they don’t really want to save your soul
they just want power and control.
True salvation doesn’t come from a hierarchy or rules
true salvation comes from acceptance with the truth
and the truth is there’s something within
that makes you ever so resilient.
– Valerie Parente (7-15-2022)
Beyond Time
Beyond Time by Valerie Parente
They say time isn’t real
but if that’s true
why does time heal?
Maybe in our soul
we’re already whole,
so resilient by design
beyond the concept of time.
– Valerie Parente (7-8-2022)
valerieparente 