Victim not Villain

August 27, 2026Leave a comment

Victim not Villain
by Valerie Parente

If a woman asks for help
time and time again
pleading and begging
in desperation
and the system ignores her
until she gives in
then she is more of a victim
than she is a villain.

And all these men in suits
are playing willfully ignorant
saying the madness in it all
is the empathetic women
not the failing system
they so pitifully defend.
They’d rather protect the patriarchy
than protect a fellow human.

So which one is it?
Which one is it then?
Hateful monsters?
Hysterical and overreacting?
Either we’re weak minded and vulnerable
or we’re the spawns of Satan
but you can’t have it both ways
then offer no solution.

– Valerie Parente (8-26-2026)

She Bites Back

July 6, 2026July 6, 2026Leave a comment

She Bites Back by Valerie Parente

If you bite
she bites back
then you have the nerve to make her the enemy
when she reacts
telling the world her defense mechanisms
are an attack
but you bit first
then put on the act
that it’s her fangs
with the negative impact.
Yes, you bit first
but she’ll bite last.

– Valerie Parente (7-5-2026)

pray/prey

May 24, 2026May 31, 2026Leave a comment

pray/prey by Valerie Parente

You pray to men
while you prey on women
and we’re all supposed to pretend
we don’t notice the difference.

You tell women to do all these things
to protect themselves from men
as you tell men to put their hands together
and continue to say amen.

There is minimal accountability
for the dangers men create
many of them see women in peril
and do nothing to make a change
instead they rely on a man in the sky
to have the courage they won’t take
because even with all the cards in their hands
they still deflect the blame
and hope the man in the sky
will deal with the hell they made.
It’s not about fault
it’s about women feeling somewhat okay
while the patriarchy that runs the world
continues to make it unsafe
under the guise of faith.

– Valerie Parente (5-24-2026)

Many Women, Some Men

April 26, 2026April 28, 2026Leave a comment

Many Women, Some Men by Valerie Parente

Many women play dumb
as not to offend
because to anger some men
could mean her life’s end.

Many women go ghost
as not to piss off
fearing rejection
could mean her life stops.

Many women hold their keys
as a means to defend
between the knuckles
where her life depends.

Many women smile back
as a way to pretend
because if she disapproves
her life could be threatened.

Some men need an explicit signal
but when they receive that, they attack
then turn around and blame women
for putting on an act.

And the knee-jerk reaction
is to say “not all men”
but what do you call it when a small portion
affects every single woman?

– Valerie Parente (4-24-2026)

Cathedral

April 7, 2026May 23, 2026Leave a comment

Cathedral by Valerie Parente

She worships her body
like a cathedral
a sacred space
to shelter the ego.

A corset of ribbed vaults
to emphasize her curves;
if this is no man’s state
then separate it from her church.

You made her body
into something political
but she’s not a group project
she’s an individual.

She listens to her own belief system
not the sound of a man’s sermon
knowing there’s no such thing
as a whore or a virgin.

The religion of her decisions
only needs to make sense to her
one woman’s freedom
is not another man’s curse.

– Valerie Parente (4-7-2026)

Eve

March 13, 2026March 14, 2026Leave a comment

Eve by Valerie Parente

I am every woman
who came before me.
Every moment they sacrificed
carved out a space
for my dreams.

I am every moment
a woman is believed.
Every truth they told
lays the foundation
that sets me free.

I am the truth
flawed as it may be.
Every mistake a girl makes
we feel empathy
all the way back
to our first girl, Eve.

– Valerie Parente (3-13-2026)

Let Your Hair Down

March 3, 2026March 7, 2026Leave a comment

Let Your Hair Down by Valerie Parente

If there is such a world
that buries women in the ground
for letting their hair down
let my sisters see the light of day
when a tornado comes their way.
As they feel the movement in the air
tell my sisters, don’t be scared
that rush is just the feeling
of the wind in your hair.

– Valerie Parente (3-3-2026)

Valkyrie

February 20, 2026March 1, 2026Leave a comment

Valkyrie by Valerie Parente

They told me to find a knight in shining armor
if I wanted someone to save me
so I polished my nails
and became my own source of bravery.

They told me to dull my shine
so that I wouldn’t distract
then pretended I never had
any power to take back.

They wanted me to yield my worth
and rely on the opposite sex
so I decided to wield my sword
and damn my own distress.

They tried to make me feel small
so I wouldn’t notice
that I am a force
to be reckoned with.

– Valerie Parente (2-20-2026)

I Was Born With Horns

February 14, 2026February 22, 2026Leave a comment

I Was Born With Horns by Valerie Parente

How dare you condemn my anatomy
when I was born with horns
it’s in my nature to have free will
what is mine is not yours.

How dare you make a mockery of me
when autonomy came with my birth
it’s in my DNA to choose how I live
what is personal is not discourse.

I decide what is right or wrong
for this body I’ve been squeezed into
that is not up for debate
if that makes me deviant
then innocence never existed in the first place.

– Valerie Parente (2-14-2026)

Bite Me!

December 20, 2025December 21, 2025Leave a comment

Bite Me! by Valerie Parente

Tell me to shut up
close my mouth
as you bare your teeth,
you chew me up
then spit me out
as you please,
so tell me why you get so offended
when I say “Bite Me!”
It’s almost as if you’re not offended by the content of my words
but the fact that I had the audacity to dictate what happens to my body first.