Tag: mental health

Encased

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Encased by Valerie Parente

I know I said I killed my younger self
but I was lying
I didn’t kill her
I locked her away
so that she would feel safe.

I thought I threw away the key
so I could preserve her whimsy
but I forgot in my haste
that behind a glass case
she could watch the world change
while staying the same age.

My life went on and progressed
with my inner child as my witness
and it took a long time
before I finally realized
I wasn’t trying to prove myself
to society or anyone else.

I’m not trying to impress you
I’m trying to impress 12 year old me
to be her idea of beauty
so that she could see
all those big scary feelings
didn’t kill her dreams
and it was this epiphany
that revealed the key
so I unlocked the case
and I set younger me free
as a way to say “forgive me
I loved you more than anything
may you go with ease
may you go with peace.”

– Valerie Parente (11-23-2025)

Give Them Hell

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Give Them Hell by Valerie Parente

I’m the monster
that my monsters are afraid of
because they wouldn’t be trying so hard to take me down
if they didn’t know what I’m capable of.
The truth is they believe in me
more than anyone else
so when I get paranoid and believe nothing is real
I can still believe in one thing, and that’s myself.

The dark entities in your mind
want to take you down to where the pain dwells
so if they’re gonna make a monster out of you
you might as well give them hell.

– Valerie Parente (10-26-2025)

Gossip

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Gossip by Valerie Parente

The voices in my head
like to gossip about me
little cliques from a school
a school of thought I attend daily.

They say never speak ill of the dead
but what if it’s the dead that speaks
leftover whispers from the depression
gossiping ghosts I already buried.

It’s anxiety that gossips
it’s intuition that simply breathes
with fear you’re not the one talking
you’re the one eavesdropping intently.

I will never be a victim to negative words
there is no need to go mad or worry
because the voices can’t talk behind my back
when I can see them right in front of me.

– Valerie Parente (10-18-2025)

The Butterfly Effect

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The Butterfly Effect by Valerie Parente

When I think of my life’s journey
every event in retrospect
had infinite potential
but it led me to this one breath.
The odds of us crossing paths
and meeting the exact way we met
was virtually impossible
it all had to line up so perfect.
And now my heart flutters
to the beat of the butterfly effect
because I can’t help but believe
this universe has a divine depth.
For so long we were in separate places
but we shared the same chrysalis
while I was getting better
you were becoming your best.
Teach me about your previous life
and I’ll take it from here for the rest
now it’s our beautiful life
as we emerge from metamorphosis.

– Valerie Parente (10-12-2025)

Scabs

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Scabs by Valerie Parente

You pick at your scabs just to watch them scab again
so that when they heal over you’ll feel satisfaction
but you’re only making yourself more susceptible to infection
so don’t be surprised when the sickness seeps in
and you long to inflict hurt for the sake of revenge
as you wield a weapon and declare it’s medicine
then wait and wait for the scabs, the reaction.


Somebody who needs others to know they have healed
is not healed.
Somebody who needs to create hurt to feel healed
is not healed.
Somebody who picks at their scabs so they can scab again
is not healed.

– Valerie Parente (9-19-2025)

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

Blue Lips

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Blue Lips by Valerie Parente

You say, something about the cold
and how it makes you depressed
like the whole world goes dark
and you lose all interest.

You say, the cold is like death
but for me I feel alive
because we can only see breath
when it’s cold outside.

I say, something about the cold
and how it makes my lips blue.
Well at least when I’m cold
I’m the color of you.

– Valerie Parente (8-24-2025)

We All Have Scars

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We All Have Scars by Valerie Parente

No one makes it out of this life
unscathed
you’re going to get scars
anyways
you might as well make them
into pretty shapes
because art is just the scars
we manipulate.

– Valerie Parente (7-10-2025)

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)