Category: Poetry

Lovestruck

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Lovestruck by Valerie Parente

Let’s talk about society
and how it lives inside of me.
Every mannerism, every inflection
spreading like a viral infection,
’cause you’ve been part of me
like an antidote to autonomy.
Something so delicate and rare
happens every time I care,
I surrender my own needs
and this narcissist starts to bleed.

Let’s assume caring is a kind of magic
capable of halting all the madness.
Every self-indulgent display
and I start to look away,
’cause I’m blinded by the glow
emanating from your soul.
Something everyone can wear
but I only see it when I care
and that’s the very empathy
that saves me from me.

– Valerie Parente (3-28-2021)



Credence

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Credence by Valerie Parente

What matters to you
when nobody else matters?
What do you believe in
when nobody believes in anything?
When someone tells you
there are no such things as deities
why do you feel inclined
to speak to a higher being?

– Valerie Parente (3-28-2021)

Pencil

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Pencil by Valerie Parente

It’s been a long time
since I’ve written in pencil,
able to erase
whatever I’m meant to,
lead on the page
like I’m living proof,
modifying the pain
as we start out new.

– Valerie Parente (3-26-2021)

Bonus

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Bonus by Valerie Parente

You are not my goal,
but you are a bonus.
I learned to live without,
so now I can live with.

– Valerie Parente (3-25-2021)

The Ebony Library

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The Ebony Library by Valerie Parente

Welcome to the Ebony Library
where the words you choose to say
are never reduced to ash,
where the voice you choose to use
spits fire like facts.
We don’t burn books here
nor do we back-track,
we recall how bad it felt
to prevent any more bad.
Here history stays untouched
while the past is the past,
we will remember how much it hurt
and we will never go back.

– Valerie Parente (3-21-2021)

Mental Growth

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Mental Growth by Valerie Parente

How many times
have we heard that saying
“you need to go through pain to grow”?
How many times
did we try to cheat the system
when all we really did was postpone?
Well I always knew I would break
I just kept putting off the date
now I’ve had a year to mature
and the growth is ten times more
but the one thing I need to try
is never to celebrate being right
because the moment I place value on being correct
I’d undermine my newfound self-respect.

I didn’t heal thinking I was right about everything
I healed when I accepted being right didn’t mean a thing.

– Valerie Parente (3-19-2021)

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)