We All Have Scars by Valerie Parente
No one makes it out of this life
unscathed
you’re going to get scars
anyways
you might as well make them
into pretty shapes
because art is just the scars
we manipulate.
– Valerie Parente (7-10-2025)
Little Nightling That Dwells
by Valerie Parente
I know you
like the back of my hand
dwelling in the dark
like roots under land.
Creature of the night
you are so in love
because the darkness was with you
when no one else was.
I know you
little nightling that dwells
on the pain and trauma
you know oh so well.
You love the dark
but does the dark love you?
When branches grow from roots
you become living proof.
Pain without art
is like a seed in the dark
but pain with a purpose
grows above the earth’s surface
reaching for the sun
when it’s all said and done.
You are more than your roots
you are what thrives above too.
– Valerie Parente (7-9-2025)
Sand Castles by Valerie Parente
When you’re a child there are as many possibilities
as there are grains of sand
so you begin to assemble them
into castles, so grand.
Something about having the whole world ahead of you
filled every moment with a sense of awe
you could be anything someday
so you chose to create something small.
Little sculptures from your little mind
before that mind expanded beyond something safe
with no concept of the sadness of time
how waves will always come to wash it all away.
You grow up and you realize
your sand castles were never meant to last
and every grain of sand
will return to the ocean, so vast.
It’s not about it being over
it’s about the memories that withstand
past, present, and future recycle over and over
into another child’s little castles made of sand.
– Valerie Parente (7-7-2025)
Check Mate by Valerie Parente
These men have checkered pasts
so these women have to play chess
strategic in who they let in their space
using gut feelings, but from the chest.
A queen maneuvering across the world
going up, down, right and left
so much power in her movements
yet they still call her second best.
And when it’s time to choose a mate
she must do more than glance or check
because it’s not just a game at the end of the day
and sliding away is better than cornered to death.
– Valerie Parente (7-2-2025)
Value by Valerie Parente
People should not be worshipped…
but ideas, stories, art
should be.
Separating the art from the artist
is an act of necessity.
Two things can be true:
A creators can go against your values
but their creations can have value to you.
Where you draw that line
between the artist and the muse
you and only you
are the one who gets to choose.
– Valerie Parente (6-30-2025)
Blood Diamonds by Valerie Parente
They all look so glamorous,
the diamond encrusted
but if you knew how they got there
you’d be disgusted
mined by the egos
primed for corruption
and we are the fools
with the naive assumption
that idols larger than life
will be well adjusted
but how can you know wrong from right
without a moral compass
how dare you call for peace
when you’re drowning in conflict.
Call it what it is
a network of blood diamonds
but you can’t see the blood on their hands
when the sparkles are so blinding.
Maybe one day we’ll learn
not to idolize the elites
dressed too fancy for practice
befit to only preach.
Night Terrors by Valerie Parente
You only feel afraid
in the nighttime
when the darkness spreads
across your eyes
but you may be mistaken
in your nightly fright
because without this contrast
you would not recognize the light.
The stars
the moon
the planets
the sky.
Rest assured
that you can rest tonight.
You should be anything
but terrified.
– Valerie Parente (6-26-2025)
One Woman
by Valerie Parente
One woman’s empowerment
is another woman’s degradation
and if you’re wondering who gets to decide
the answer is one woman,
one woman at a time.
– Valerie Parente (6-23-2025)
Trigger by Valerie Parente
How many people
roam around the world
trying not to be triggered
because the everyday man in the everyday trance
doesn’t understand
that the recovery phase
isn’t the same as unfazed.
It creeps up on you
these triggers
in the middle of a good day with a smile on your face
but you’re not okay
and the others don’t have a clue
that there’s a weapon inside of you
in the shape of a thought
waiting to be set off.
Therein lies the trickiness
of mental illness;
it’s invisible to everyone else
so we never know when we trigger it.
But there’s a beauty in you
that should be mentioned;
that you don’t go around the world
being unaffected.
Your triggers make you human
through and through
because what is a flawless mind
but a lesser version of me and you.
– Valerie Parente (6-22-2025)
What A Pretty Hill To Die On
by Valerie Parente
What a pretty hill that is
you chose to die on
climbed all that way
just to watch your town burn
took so much commitment
and sold your soul
using your last breaths
to cough up smoke.
Tell me, was the grass greener
on the other side?
Were you happier
being part of the lie?
Did you die as you lived,
succumbing to hate?
Did you use your influence
to fan the flames?
No that’s not a pretty hill
you chose as your cemetery
beneath the surface
you were once exemplary
but you used your good fortune
to cash into the institute
that never would have thought
to die for pretty little you.
– Valerie Parente (6-15-2025)
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