Tag: finding beauty in darkness

Night Vision

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Night Vision by Valerie Parente

Every night becomes day
and every day becomes night
there is nothing permanent
about this fight that you fight.

When I was young I developed night vision
finding beauty in darkness all around
so I made that my main mission
to paint it all out, to write it all down.

You see these eyes, they adapted
as these pupils grew far and wide
thriving in the day as well as evening
now I’m twice as much alive.

It was scary at first
deciphering the shapes under the shadows
but that’s the glory in growing lucid
what was once a dream is now in your control.

I see you, I see it all,
you can run but you can’t hide,
I will see you again
next time with a third eye.

– Valerie Parente (1-11-2026)

The Damsel & The Demon (INTRO)

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The Damsel & The Demon
by Valerie Parente

There once was a Damsel named Daphne
and when she was just a girl
she started having intrusive thoughts
that drew her to the underworld.

There stood the kingdom of Nefaria
ruled by a soul sucking Demon
he preyed on the vulnerable
by giving them something to believe in.

With the incessant rhymes in her head
the Damsel turned to the Demon for relief
tolerating and even aiding
the damned souls he heartlessly reaped.

But in a moment of profound strength
Daphne had a change of heart
she felt the fire in her own soul,
all it took was one spark.

From that day began a journey
where her codependence would be unlearned
finding a power within herself
Daphne would be the Damsel no more.

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The Damsel & The Demon by Valerie Parente

Light Pollution

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Light Pollution by Valerie Parente

It’s not normal to be so bright
all of the time
and the more you force it
the less meaning you’ll find.
If you’re plagued by the artificial
you might as well be blind
because the light pollution
blocks out the natural skies
and there’s a reason we live
in a world that turns to night;
it is not to make you sad
it is meant to highlight
that you’re entitled to be somber
it is your natural right
but the stars can take it from here
so turn off the lights.
We don’t need all this pollution
and the push to be contrived
you don’t need to fake a smile
you are allowed to cry
that duality is night and day
and what it means to be alive.

– Valerie Parente (8-3-2025)


Little Nightling That Dwells

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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)

Night Terrors

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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)

Dear Darkling

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Dear Darkling by Valerie Parente

You are the symbol of pain becoming beauty
featherless wings
hope withstanding mood swings
sprouting from a spine
where stance is a nuisance
so you arch your back
like the moon and its exuberance
and though you come from the aether
your experience is human;
so fear not, dear darkling
you have become the blueprint
of finding beauty in darkness
now the teacher, once the student.

As above, you knew your worth
so below, you went and proved it.

– Valerie Parente (10-26-2024)

If Only My Thoughts Could Fly Away

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If Only My Thoughts Could Fly Away by Valerie Parente

Crossed my legs and started to pray
that my thoughts could just fly away
but they’re delicate, so I confined them
inside a cage of the like-minded.

These thoughts have a life of their own
beautiful ravens that don’t know where to go
I tell them, “It’s okay, go with peace”
but they don’t know who they are without me.

The feelings are mutual between the thinker and the thoughts
but maybe it’s time to align with an outside cause…
so to those darklings with feathered wings
I bid you farewell from your upbringing.

– Valerie Parente (1-7-2024)

she is the tree whisperer (A Fantasy Chronicle)

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she is the tree whisperer by Valerie Parente

Little baby girl
found at the bottom of a tree
nestled in the moss
along the tree’s anatomy
but she was not alone
in her perfectly sound sleep;
for the lullabies of the tree spirits
kept her warmth and company.

Found by three druids
but raised by two
they named her Sylvianna
under the wake of the moon,
offered her a home in the village
but she kindly refused
because there with the tree spirits
she felt connected to her roots.

Sylvianna grew to know the forest
like the back of her hand
from the tip of her toes
to her antennas of branch
receiving the whispers
from the lay of the land
learning about lifetimes
far beyond man.

With nails like claws
Sylvianna climbed to her kingdom
a network of treehouses
where she learned from the brilliant.
For there is a reason that trees
are known for their wisdom
because they’ve heard it all
throughout the ecosystem.

She is the tree whisperer
and she is one with the Nightingale forest
protecting the very territory
that granted her solace.
She had the option to leave
nature’s cruelty and harshness
but she whispered to herself,
“I’d much rather be haunted.”