Ravenheart: The Prophecy by Valerie Parente
She who hosts
the ravenheart
will lead a life
in the dark.
When, and only when
she feels the sun’s rays
will she find the strength
to be brave.
– Valerie Parente (4-28-2023)
Starry Eyed by Valerie Parente
Stardust on my eyes
pretend I am surprised
by the darkness of the night
when you know damn well I’m starry eyed.
I would never see
the constellations and their beauty
without the contrast of the night
black like the pupils in my eyes.
Rejoice my friend
this is all our eyes’ reflection
light and dark are the same principle
and from here on out you are invincible.
– Valerie Parente (7-30-2022)
Shine by Valerie Parente
Never wore white
but I thought I’d try
’cause the darkness inside
learned how to shine.
– Valerie Parente (6-12-2021)
The Seven Swords (A Fantasy Chronicle) by Valerie Parente
He was an elven warrior,
wielding a mighty sword,
an Excalibur that glowed,
in dire times of war.
There were six other swords,
each emanating a vibrant hue,
violet, indigo, green, yellow,
orange, scarlet, and his was blue.
This elf belonged to the clouds,
his people charged the stars,
on a stratosphere of temples,
each lighting up the dark.
Sky-born elves were peaceful,
up until a decade ago,
when archangels from underground,
took the stars as their own.
Ever since that catastrophic heist,
the world was never the same,
all creatures lived in the dark,
using torches to illuminate.
That’s when the seven swords
broke their hibernation,
their glow was the key,
to defeating hell’s nation.
The blue sword resided in a raincloud,
violet was stored on the lilac beach,
indigo hid away in the catacombs,
green perched in the forts of trees,
yellow in the sunlight chapel,
orange in the nymph observatory,
and scarlet in the wicked forest,
that guarded hell from enemies.
All seven swords were retrieved,
by different breeds of man,
elves, witches, trolls, and more,
each ready to take a stand.
Every retrieval was its own tale,
but that is for another day,
today we discuss the battle,
that took place at hell’s gates.
The archangels fought hard,
to keep the world in the dark,
but the seven swords fought harder,
to find the light that was lost.
For seven days and seven nights,
the battleground was on fire,
and sword after sword,
illuminated like a lighter.
The archangels were defeated,
by the myriad of colors,
and every time one deceased,
they exploded like no other.
A rainbow of brilliant rays,
shot up like a beam to the sky,
and each archangel carcass,
became a new kind of starlight.
Ever since that fateful day,
the blue sword became a symbol,
absorbing the light in the sky,
that once belonged to the dismal.
We learn from the seven swords,
that sometimes the darkest minds,
just need a little spark,
to surrender to the bright side.
– Valerie Parente (4-16-2021)
Black and White by Valerie Parente
They say the higher you climb,
the harder the fall,
but if you ask me,
that doesn’t make sense at all.
When I’m sky high,
the clouds are my cushion,
the sun is my eyes,
and the moon is my vision.
I see a gradient in everything,
life is not black and white,
“all is good, all is evil,”
is a fallacy old as time.
I see it from the cliff,
the gifted and the damned,
and there’s really no difference,
between those two hands.
Every blessing has its dark hours,
every curse can shed a light,
it’s about finding the gray area,
between the black and white.
The hurt feels so dark,
the hope, a bright light,
the heal, a full moon,
connecting day to night.
– Valerie Parente (4-14-2021)
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)
The Beauty of Darkness (I) by Valerie Parente
I find
the most unwavering comfort
in my dark moods
because they remind me
that I am human
just like you.
– Valerie Parente (11-1-2020)
Idiosyncratic Pain by Valerie Parente
I don’t want to be known for my pain,
I want to make the most of my pain,
and if that entails
emotions to prevail
in a story that parallels
my particular mental hell
and I can make you understand
a specific circumstance
then all will be fine
’cause baby, I’m one of a kind.
– Valerie Parente (10-22-2020)
A Poetic Manifesto by Valerie Parente
What it means to be an artist is that I take my life experiences and process them through a creative filter. My internal world manifests best through the art of written word. As a result, when I’m in pain I might write a “dark” piece. To those who find this work disturbing, this is my rebuttal.
I have every right to say anything I want to say
because this page is my stage and this is my brain
and the reason you felt uncomfortable when you read it
was because you have resonated with it.
If you become upset knowing that I am broken
then please understand that writing about my mental health
is how I begin to heal myself.
I will never stop emoting and hurting and healing and if any of this is problematic for someone then I pray you find the strength to learn how to be human one day.
– Valerie Parente (5-30-2019)
Dissonant Demons by Valerie Parente
My eyes want to cry
but I’m not sad in my mind.
My body wants to be burned
but my heart is already warm.
I’m trying to think of ways
to hurt myself without causing pain.
These demons, they try to stay relevant,
but my glorious God is not hellbent.
– Valerie Parente (3-4-2019)
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