Sage for Sage by Valerie Parente
Cleanse the room
like I’ve cleansed myself.
Heal the collective conscience
and its mental health.
The air and its smoke
is so much bigger than you
but we are all connected
to the wisdom’s roots.
Sage for sage,
please accompany me.
Sage for sage,
I will learn as I breathe.
– Valerie Parente (2-16-2021)
The Guardian Angel Complex by Valerie Parente
When you lose a friendship, it creates a hole,
you notice all the places you used to go,
and a crater in the shape of another soul.
But when you lose the life of a friend,
there is a Guardian Angel Complex,
and you still feel their spirit in your chest.
This is precisely why my worst grief is not from death
but from the loss of a relationship.
I know that in death there is peace,
in death, you are still with me.
But when a relationship meets its demise
it fades with all the good times.
Wipe your tears, there is no need to cry,
at the completion of someone’s life.
In the physical world someone can fade away
but in death they materialize into an emotional state.
Do not make grief the enemy,
grief is the universe’s way of hinting at peace.
When there is loss of life and you feel disbelief
that dissonant feeling is all the proof you need
that the souls that leave with love, live on infinitely.
– Valerie Parente (2-9-2021)
Celestial Being by Valerie Parente
I see myself in the moon
because I go through phases too.
I see myself in the stars
because I, too, glow in the dark.
The constellations are my family
they are my home, and all of humanity’s.
Life is incredibly dark, life is incredibly ripe,
life is the way we organize the stellar mind.
Do not give into fear, do not go insane,
this landscape is just a temporary display.
You will be infinite, you will return
when you review all you have learned.
– Valerie Parente (2-5-2021)
Invincible by Valerie Parente
The glory of being open about mental health
is that nobody can weaponize it against you.
Anything you say, I’ve already said myself
and nothing is more invincible than living your truth.
– Valerie Parente (2-3-2021)
There Is A Reason by Valerie Parente
Contrary to popular belief
I did not choose this pain,
it chose me.
I did not choose to fixate,
my mind was already made.
I did not choose to restrict,
it was in my genetics.
I did not throw my life away on that fateful day in ninth grade,
it was meant to happen to teach me about compassion when you rise from the ashes.
I was predisposed to every mental hoax so that my soul could know true spiritual growth.
– Valerie Parente (2-1-2021)
Spellbound by Valerie Parente
Spellbound cycles, I go,
like magic, not neuro-typical.
As if I’ve been blessed by a witch
ever since I was a little kid.
She gave me a strange kind of gift
struck my heart, but must have missed.
I become enchanted, but it’s strange
because I feel it in my brain.
Spellbound, that’s what I call it.
That’s my crazy way of falling.
At first sight, there’s a spark
and that serves as the mark
that I will always reference
to justify my obsessiveness.
Second stage, there’s the longing
clinging on to every moment
reading too much as I read minds
gradually making a mess of mine.
Third stage, the gut punch
usually after years, not months.
I can’t eat or sleep, I just cry
and every time I nearly die.
Then it all starts over again
the random spark, and I’m obsessed.
I don’t know how others fall
feeling the magic of it all
entranced in such a good sense
when my trance feels hellbent.
It always starts out exciting,
to realize I can feel something
but it turns into a special kind of hell
where I can’t separate from the spell.
There’s never a justification
for that inexplicable fascination.
It just strikes, and I’m weak
blood rushing at its peak.
But it never works and I get worse.
A brand new spell with the same hurt.
– Valerie Parente (1-28-2021)
Amethyst Skull by Valerie Parente
An amethyst skull,
we are anything but dull,
something creepy to think about,
that’s why we ignore our mental health,
but when you finally look inside,
you’ll see you shine so divine,
look at what you’re made of,
you’re a miracle in this hell,
far more remarkable than you realize,
the universe and intention comprised.
Do not fear your bones,
they just decorate your soul.
– Valerie Parente (1-23-2021)
A New Day by Valerie Parente
When the bare minimum wasn’t addressed
we wound up with a grand mess
but now that hope has persevered
we can finally begin to heal.
– Valerie Parente (1-20-2021)
A Little Sympathy Would Be Nice by Valerie Parente
I think a lot about my past
but that doesn’t mean I want it back.
My brain was wrongly designed
to dwell on former times,
getting caught on the same loops
and I know that gets you confused.
I don’t want the same things,
but that’s what my conscience brings.
If you find that weird
then imagine how I feel.
OCD is like a chronic bad habit,
a royal jester playing old tricks
and when its trying to fool you
just know it tried to fool me too.
– Valerie Parente (1-18-2021)
Art Without Fame by Valerie Parente
Artistic displays without God-like fame gets you weird looks.
Promiscuous fashion without hollow passion gets you unsold books.
Poetic mindsets without a publisher’s subtext gets you ridiculed.
Free expression without others’ discretion gets you verbal abuse.
Because it’s okay to feel hurt
as long as you have a following
and it’s okay to create stories
as long as you’re not being honest
but the moment you draw from your real life
without the public’s hype
that’s when they call you the bad guy;
Because art without fame is just the diary of a lunatic.
Love without a mate gets you deemed the psycho chick.
And this is not a complaint, just a reminder that I’m aware of it.
So bid me your hate, I’m already immune to it.
I’ve learned to accept that when you merge intellect with fishnets
as a way to project an explicit mindset and mental health awareness
you’ll get teased by the rest but I’m okay with that test
because I’ve overcome too much stress against the odds of my illness
to still give a fraction of a shit.
– Valerie Parente (1-12-2021)
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