Category: Poetry

From A Mile Away

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From A Mile Away by Valerie Parente

When you realized I was your teammate
I saw it coming from a mile away,
that’s why I tried to steer you towards a path
when it wasn’t really my place to ask,
and now I understand I was too compromised
by an infatuation that soared beyond my pride,
and when it all blew up in the worst way
I saw it coming from a mile away.

I understand now why I didn’t stick around
and even though it brought on a pain so profound,
I’m so glad I learned how to rely on no one else
to take care of my ever-evolving mental health.

– Valerie Parente (3-30-2021)

The Phases of My Mental Health (So Far…)

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The Phases of My Mental Health (So Far…) by Valerie Parente

My crown,
on a daydreamed version of myself,
turned to antlers,
on a haunted version of myself,
turned to horns,
on a metaphysical version of myself,
and I,
will never be overwhelmed,
by the phases,
of my mental health.

– Valerie Parente (6-25-2021)

3rd Poetry & Prose Collection Coming Soon
on Amazon.com

Hedge Maze

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Hedge Maze by Valerie Parente

Hedge maze, nature made,
this confusing mystery,
then man came with sheers,
to make me feel pretty.
I didn’t ask to be planted,
when I became a seed,
sharp corners you touch,
in a labyrinth of evergreen.
You must get through the brush,
if you want to see,
what it’s like to love,
and be loved effortlessly.
I stumble through this maze,
it’s so new to me,
even though these hedges,
are my anatomy.
I am one with this path,
and it is one with my pleas,
never straying too far,
from the dream I dreamed.
I trust where it goes,
without a map to read,
even when I get lost,
I’m never out of reach.
I give you this hedge maze,
if you give me your feet,
we’ll do this together,
navigate this journey.

– Valerie Parente (4-23-2021)

Anomaly

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Anomaly by Valerie Parente

You said my mind was weak
when I developed OCD
but I say my mind was strong
strong enough to rewire it all.

You said I favor my defects
because honesty is my reflex
but I’m denouncing the stigma
with this abnormal wisdom.

You said I have an excuse
to revisit my refuge
but I’m happier in the open
socializing instead of coping.

I’ve got this mental illness
pushing me to my limits
and you think that I’m complicit
but I’m really just its witness.

– Valerie Parente (6-23-2021)

Where I Come From

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Where I Come From by Valerie Parente

I made it personal on purpose,
so you could see the grace and the grit,
made the heartache so worth it,
’cause it’s an artist you played with.

Here’s the muse I choose to use,
thank you for seeing these metaphors through,
it got rough when I spoke the truth,
because of how much I love you.

Now it’s copyrighted to my tongue,
never resent where I come from,
using the fire in my lungs,
let’s flip the pages for fun.

My collection, my protection,
from any potential detriment,
it brought me the ideal lesson,
that’s the power of manifesting.

– Valerie Parente (6-16-2021)

That’s The Moon

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That’s The Moon by Valerie Parente

Look up high
at the night sky.
See that? That’s the moon
it’s not an excuse
it’s an explanation
to something complicated
something I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand
but when I break it down as a symbol I stand a chance
to make sense of the voice inside
this methodically mad mind.

Do you see that? That’s the moon
and it belongs to you too.

– Valerie Parente (6-16-2021)

The Architect

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The Architect by Valerie Parente

She who wears the claw of chrome,
upon her right hand,
can create worlds,
from a pathological plan.

It’s the illness in her defective bones,
that whispers the blueprint,
adjusting the world order,
to rebuild from the ruins.

She’s made it her grand mission,
to map out this pain,
now it’s her duty,
to make a home out of a maze.

With bright pink locks of hair,
she has your attention,
they agree with the task,
but don’t understand the reference.

She’s called a freak when she lays it out,
with her architectural mind,
but her cultural impact,
is an outcome that doesn’t lie.

She has an eye for constructing it all,
knows where to lie the stones,
knows where to build up,
knows where to dig a hole.

Everybody wants the stigma to vanish,
but rarely do they realize,
that to see past the roadblocks,
we need to open our eyes.

– Valerie Parente (6-16-2021)

The Femme Fatale

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The Femme Fatale by Valerie Parente

That woman holds the serpent
doing as she pleases
and wouldn’t you like to know
that’s why they call her deviant.

They gave her scarlet horns
so she adorned them with charms
reminders of her intentions
from the moon and the stars.

That woman is in charge
that’s why they call her malevolent
she didn’t kill any man
she killed man’s dominance.

– Valerie Parente (6-15-2021)

Divine Design

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Divine Design by Valerie Parente

There’s no such thing as coincidence,
there has to be design,
because how can I find the perfect words,
that just so happen to rhyme?
You’re telling me poets are just lucky?
That language just so happens to coincide,
that there’s rhythm to the psyche,
that can be written in artistic lines,
that the material world naturally mirrors,
the effortless world inside my mind?
No, I don’t believe in luck,
I believe in the divine,
based on every one of your points,
used to describe otherwise.

– Valerie Parente (6-15-2021)