Thunderstorm Ritual by Valerie Parente
The thunderstorm ritual,
light a candle,
open the windows,
and with every flash,
wait for the clap,
because this life,
its lightening fast,
written in the stars,
there is a crack,
striking a light,
from your past,
it already happened,
but it comes back,
the flicker of a moment,
never loses its impact.
Revel in the storm
like it’s your last.
– Valerie Parente (7-16-2022)
The Femme Fatale by Valerie Parente
That woman holds the serpent
doing as she pleases
and wouldn’t you like to know
that’s why they call her deviant.
They gave her scarlet horns
so she adorned them with charms
reminders of her intentions
from the moon and the stars.
That woman is in charge
that’s why they call her malevolent
she didn’t kill any man
she killed man’s dominance.
– Valerie Parente (6-15-2021)
Sitting on Skulls and Bones by Valerie Parente
A pile of skulls and bones,
she sits on them like they’re her throne,
resenting the death that rots beneath,
while presenting the depths of her beliefs.
So much destruction from perfectionism and ultimatums,
so in love with what she had, but love’s what made it complicated,
she was suspended in a bittersweet purgatory,
still existing, but never free,
not quite in heaven, not quite in hell,
and you’d be surprised how bad that felt,
so she did what she does best,
she poured her heart out then she left,
convinced there’d be a savior,
but no one came to save her,
now she mourns all the love she once had,
while the things she loved don’t mourn her back,
it’s a truth she has yet to accept,
so she built this throne out of death,
coping by spinning gold,
out of moping that has grown old,
so regal in all of her grief,
turning life lessons into a trophy,
because there’s so much value in every loss,
you don’t fully see it until it’s gone,
now she sits here in grateful defeat,
honoring the things she willingly reaped,
dead and gone but not dead inside,
because this gratitude is still raw and ripe.
– Valerie Parente (10-9-2020)
Subconscious Effort by Valerie Parente
Nothing makes me believe in the divinity of the universe
more than the synchronicity between art and the subconscious;
because I could write and write and have no idea what I mean
but when I take a look back I can see what I needed to see
and to think that I initially didn’t understand what I was referencing in my piece
yet it found a way to acknowledge and explain my mentality
that to me is proof that the universe and all its cosmic incredibility is responsive and alive
even inside the deeply hidden facets of my mind.
– Valerie Parente (10-8-2020)
Humbling Truth by Valerie Parente
To speak your mind is your God given right
but to be heard is a gift.
Be humbled when the world listens.
– Valerie Parente (8-1-2020)
Love. Heartache. Death.
Rather Be Haunted documents a dark period for the poet. Emotions linger like ghosts. Interpersonal relations cause palpable frustration. Death breaks the heart but in the most beautiful way.
Through chronological poetry and prose you can feel all that haunts the obsessive compulsive writer’s psyche as she tries to understand her hyper-sensitivities through rhymes and clever lines. As frustration builds, so does resilience, making the struggles that define our humanity all the more remarkable. After all, isn’t the struggle to make sense of emotions the grandest mark of being alive? What makes us human hurts; that is the gift of the universe.
Rather Be Haunted is the second volume of poetry & prose by Valerie Parente, featuring Mannequin Art alongside writing pieces. You can now own the collection in Paperback or Kindle!
Red Flags by Valerie Parente
Next time I see warning signs I need to realize
that this frustration makes me see red;
that’s why the red flags were easier to protect
because the color wasn’t something I noticed.
– Valerie Parente (6-22-2020)
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