Ravenheart: Her Black Heart (A Fantasy Chronicle)

Ravenheart: Her Black Heart by Valerie Parente

That woman had a ravenheart
so burnt and charred
buried in her chest
like a pounding scar.

She lived in the dwelling
dwelling on the pain
and when the prince came to save her
she hid deep in her cave.

She cried, “Don’t get too close to me
I have a black heart
you will never be safe
within my arms.”

He countered, “Your worry is warped
my dear, fear no death
your black heart is no curse
it’s the channel for your depth.

No surface absorbs light
as well as the color black
what you say you destroy
is what you attract.

Step out, into the world
you’d be surprised how wonderful it is
to interact with it all
and feel the sun on your skin.”

With black veins like branches
she revealed herself
and her black heart raced
at the sight of someone else.

– Valerie Parente (10-4-2025)

Ravenheart: These Veins Are Not In Vain (A Fantasy Chronicle)

Ravenheart:
These Veins Are Not In Vain (A Fantasy Chronicle)
by Valerie Parente

The veins on her hands
like trees with no leaves
black and branching out
along her anatomy.

That ravenheart pumped,
her sanctum of midnight,
filtering the darkness
in the dead of the night.

It only hurts a little
to be made of this blood
she got used to the pain
and the love it’s made of.

She looks to her veins
and knows they’re not in vain
because with these hands
she learned to create.

Since her birth in the thunder
she whispered before her slumber
a promise the shadows bid unto her
these words of ancient scripture,
“Take this black hole
and make it whole
feed that world
no others know.
Use great stress
to create great depth
and with this alchemy
you destroy fear of death.”

– Valerie Parente (6-9-2023)

The Grand Review (A Fantasy Chronicle)

The Grand Review by Valerie Parente

Now an enlightened Moonchild, Elissa claimed
the greatest discovery of the human race.
And with a quill pen dancing between fingers
she wrote in kraken ink, the law of existence.

When you have died
you review your life.
This is called the Grand Review
and it’s when you view life as you.
Right now, what you are witnessing
is also called, Living.
How..? You might ask.
Everything you endure is the past.
You think right now you are alive
but you have already died
a covert angel, playing it all out
but it feels like you’re here and now
and your very sense of the present
is proof of your everlasting presence.
When you return to your angel form you’ll admit
it does not feel so dark, does it?
Death is one with your life form,
a dual state you cannot hide from.
Little human, cry no more.
You died when you were born.
Do not fear death,
you’re doing it every moment.

– Valerie Parente (4-23-2023)

Sunrise (A Fantasy Chronicle)

Sunrise (A Fantasy Chronicle) by Valerie Parente

Elissa grew up to be an enchantress
understanding the dark art of semantics
“Would you do it again?” her peers asked.
She declared, “I wouldn’t change the past
but I will tell you this of darkness
preach not what you practice.
It would be a grave mistake
to go out of your way
to create pain out of nothing
in an attempt to feel something.
Thou shall respond to darkness
while the sun sets
knowing the sun will rise again
along the horizon.”

– Valerie Parente (12-6-2022)

Paint The Stars With Blood (Part I) [A Fantasy Chronicle]

Paint The Stars With Blood (Part I) [A Fantasy Chronicle] by Valerie Parente

Elissa painted the stars with her blood
back when she was numb
a little crimson magic
for the sky’s fabric
stained on purpose
because the creepers said it would be worth it
so she fulfilled that prophecy
when she was so damn naive
illuminating the region
with stars the shapes of demons
but the sun eventually rose
and she could see she was alone
that’s when she found the strength
to no longer identify with pain
it was the bravest thing she ever did
deciding she was more than her emotions.

– Valerie Parente (9-6-2022)

Beg A Question – The Royal Harpy & The Lunar Druid (A Fantasy Chronicle)

Beg A Question – The Royal Harpy & The Lunar Druid (A Fantasy Chronicle) by Valerie Parente

The royal harpy’s sickness
has always been her muse
and that’s precisely why this princess
couldn’t differentiate from the two.

On a night of pure stillness
she captured the druid of the moon
she took him as her witness
and begged him for the truth.

“Surely it’s your business,
and I will not be made a fool,
tell me, am I my condition
or is my condition just a ruse?”

The lunar druid was oddly smitten
remembering all the princess had been through
a young harpy tormented by children
so he posed a question too.

“Did they bully you for your condition?
Or was this your condition because they bullied you?”
“I’m not sure I know the difference,”
the princess whispered so confused.

That druid of the moon simply listened
as he heard all he needed to
and as his emerald eyes glistened
he whispered, “That is your proof.”

– Valerie Parente (7-30-2021)

Moonchild Manifesto: A Poetry & Prose Collection by Valerie Parente AVAILABLE NOW

AVAILABLE HERE

Moonchild Manifesto by Valerie Parente is a body of work that documents the parallel between two acts: feeling a profound connection and making it your whole mood, and taking a topic and making it your artistic muse. There is a similarity between poetry and the spell we call love. A Moonchild is hyper-sensitive to this similarity and understands how it is equally enchanting as it is taxing. Divided into three moon phases, this poetry and prose collection follows the subconscious trajectory of The Hurt, The Heal, and The Hope.

Valerie Parente’s third poetry and prose collection manifested out of what she does best, mixing psychology, spirituality, and fantasy to make sense of her mental experiences as both a human being with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and a whimsically dark artist.

The Harpy At Curtain Call (A Fantasy Chronicle)

The Harpy At Curtain Call (A Fantasy Chronicle) by Valerie Parente

She’s got violet wings
claws for scratching
getting under your skin
with her keen language
a harpy at curtail call
a village so appalled
jet black eyes in a stupor
no irises, all pupils
absorbing all of the light
scanning the horizon for flight
so formidable to the townsfolk
like the creeper when exposed
and right before she takes off
she prays to the dawn
because she has so much fear
when the night inches near
because it’s easier to see the horizon
when the light is there for guiding
and she has so much faith
at the beginning of the day.

– Valerie Parente (6-13-2021)

Jackalope

Jackalope by Valerie Parente

You’re just a mythical thing
a hybrid through taxidermy
jackrabbit ears
antlers that pierce
formulated after death
a concept used to make sense
of the world we don’t know
my dear jackalope.

You’re just a mythical thing
you screwed me up that morning
that’s why I’m a creature of the night
but that pain will not define
the way you broke me down
so broken but whole now
a fusion of my dual states
dark and light in the same place.

You’re just a mythical thing
two real entities mixing
to make one hell of a tall tale
and my mind went off the rails
a little truth behind the love
a little make-believe teenage crush
you got out, never quite mine
I had grace but I was chaos inside.

You’re just a mythical thing
made from the backstabbing
you don’t know me
you know a girl so naive
when I had you in my palm
before we sabotaged it all
but I’m content tonight
I found someone that felt right.

You’re just a mythical thing
my omen, my warning
you don’t play God with nature
you don’t tamper with your maker
that’s when you lose your appetite
become emaciated over night
that was no way to live
nearly got myself killed.

You’re just a mythical thing
a story I was telling
now you’re a thing of the past
and I won’t bring that pain back
a little bit of truth combined
became a tall tale over time
and I’m okay letting go
farewell, dear jackalope.

– Valerie Parente (6-6-2021)