Category: Poetry

Irrevocable

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Irrevocable by Valerie Parente

In my anxiety
I imagine
if I lost it all
and in my anxiety
I imagine
my reaction
to if I lost it all
and the first thought that comes to mind
is “I’ve had such a great life”
because something about being without
makes me realize how unfathomably blessed I’ve been
and in what I lack in the present tense
I’ve gained the ability to see how the universe once filled that space
and to be able to recognize a miracle
is an irrevocable miracle in itself.
The world can decay and the universe can evaporate
but to no longer be blind to how life was great
is not a loss, it’s a gain.

– Valerie Parente (3-15-2025)

A Vicious Circle

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A Vicious Circle by Valerie Parente

In the circle of life
there is no disconnect between left or right
the farther you stray
the closer you get to being one in the same
meeting in the middle
no matter how much or how little
you try to hide
under the guise of “you and I”
but there is no separation
just a vicious circle of hatred
you can go around the world a thousand times
and see the same shapes, just different sizes.
Maybe it’s time we realize
our point of view isn’t so profound and
you will always come back, full circle,
so you might as well be well rounded.

– Valerie Parente (3-9-2025)

Medusa Had It Right

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Medusa Had It Right by Valerie Parente

Medusa had it right
when she turned that man to stone.
Female wrath doesn’t just happen
it gets provoked.
If you dare look at her
when she does not condone
don’t act surprised
by the rage she holds
because the male gaze
only benefits one role
and it’s not the women
it pretends to boast.

– Valerie Parente (3-7-2025)

Censor/Exploit/Repeat

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Censor/Exploit/Repeat by Valerie Parente

Censor her
for her femininity
like it makes sense to be
offended by another’s anatomy
unless there’s something
a little monetary
that can be derived
from her liberty
‘cause if it’s just for her
she can’t do it for free
but if it’s for the rest
now she’s a commodity
just another product
of a voyeuristic society
wanting to strip choice
from the ones with the bodies
that we exploit
then ask for modesty.

It’s all so
arbitrary
dictated by when men do and don’t
want to see
confidence
or insecurity
and therein lies
the ultimate absurdity
one day censoring, one one day profiting from
female agency.

– Valerie Parente (3-7-2025)

They Want Your Heart of Gold

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They Want Your Heart of Gold by Valerie Parente

It is not your fault
that you were manipulated again
you trust so easy
and find it hard to comprehend
that someone might use you
to tie up their own loose ends;
just know your greatest crime
was being a good person.

You have a softness through and through
and this quality attracts manipulators to you
because you have something that they don’t
a heart, and it’s made of pure gold.
Gold is one of the easiest elements to mold
to poke and prod and fold
manipulators see you as a commodity to behold
as if your honesty and loyalty could be sold
but did you also know
that gold does not easily corrode?
They can scratch and stretch and pull
but nothing can chip away at your soul.

Darling, you have a heart of gold
and the ones manipulating have a gaping hole.
Guess who is the valuable one
between the two of those?

– Valerie Parente (3-1-2025)


Winter Trees

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Winter Trees by Valerie Parente

Winter trees look quite distressed,
naked before the rest
but did you ever notice
that winter trees perfectly reflect
the roots that grow in the depths
of the grime, the grit, the stress,
in the dark it all manifests.

Like dendrites as they work,
planted once, then bringing forth
the nutrients through the dirt,
all you need to grow well versed,
a mirror for what it’s worth
of what goes on unearthed,
bound to one place but still traversed.

Winter trees denote
the truth of the untold,
that the ways we grow
don’t always show
until we withstand the cold,
so let it be known
as above, so below.

– Valerie Parente (2-23-2025)

Supernova

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Supernova by Valerie Parente

A dying star
is still a star, nevertheless
and when it goes out
a burst of light will be its last breath
leaving behind
shockwaves, so complex
the world cannot help
but feel its effects.
We may call it space
but there is no emptiness
for memories will linger
far past any death.

– Valerie Parente (2-16-2025)

A Mystery

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A Mystery by Valerie Parente

When you were young
you wanted to be left alone
for the sole purpose
of attracting a hero.

You didn’t want to be a spouse
you didn’t want to be a camaraderie
you didn’t want to be a parent
you wanted to be a mystery.

You’d sit alone in silence
where smiles were forbidden
because if they understood how you felt
they’d lose all interest.

You were adolescent and vulnerable
and deep in your sins
but would you believe
you were still innocent?

Never call it a conscious choice
when you were tricked to choose
by the shadows in predispositions
trauma of the old and the new.

Despite it all, you wouldn’t call it hell
the pain you endured in the past
hell would have been going through it all
without the support system you had.

You nearly lost it all to the shadows
but you made it out with so much more
manifesting your own enlightenment
you became the hero you longed for.

It is no longer a mystery
how the light shined through
it came through all the cracks
of the hearts that broke for you.

And if you could tell your younger self
one little clue
let it be the resounding phrase
“I forgive you”.

– Valerie Parente (2-8-2025)

Scar Tissue

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Scar Tissue by Valerie Parente

You are designed
to heal from the inside out
it can be ugly on the surface
but you should be proud
because these marks take time
and show your defiance to pain
its the art of surviving
so unique to your shape.
You are your own hero
but don’t forget, you are human
and healing takes time
don’t make any sudden movements.
Know when to tend to wounds
and when pain’s at its end
remember, scars don’t bleed
unless you pick at them.

– Valerie Parente (2-6-2025)

Everything Is Magic

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Everything Is Magic by Valerie Parente

The wisemen say they don’t believe in magic.
They believe in reality.
But reality is magic.
You’ve just been conditioned not to see.

Symbols on a piece of parchment
can make you hear voices
see new worlds
weigh different choices.
They can prompt an epiphany
share cures or poisons
elicit joy or devastation
be one of the greatest forces.

Potions consumed from bottles
can perform a range of spells
course through your blood
send you to heaven or hell.
They can spark bravery
inhibitions, they can quell
they can make a shy man speak
become another version of himself.

Elixirs from the earth
are constantly feeding
giving energy to move
and keep your heart beating.
They fight off disease
they bind the bleeding
supercharged by a fireball
we call it sunlight gleaming.

Life creates life
from life, so it goes,
and in acts of love
we see another seed grow.
It’s all virtually impossible
but breath still flows
against all the odds
you exist, and you know.

The world is a magical place
the greatest fantasy we could ever witness
everything is extraordinary
the farthest thing from hopeless
you’ve just been taught
not to notice.