Untethered

March 10, 2024March 13, 2024Leave a comment

Untethered by Valerie Parente

Being free
and being dizzy
are one in the same
and I’ve never felt more untethered
than when I can’t think straight.

Being fluid
all is moving
and I feel the movement in me
not in sync with the rest
but so close, I am almost complete.

Being uninterrupted
I feel gratitude
when I remember I can feel this way
though I admit, I feel frustrated
when I remember this is not okay to say.

I dream
of this freedom
of being untethered again
moving and fluid
from the fluid within.

– Valerie Parente (2-16-2024)

Queen of Aversions

February 21, 2024February 24, 2024Leave a comment

Queen of Aversions by Valerie Parente

I have an endless list of aversions
since age 0, almost to my 30s
and it should come as no surprise
that it permeates every area of my life
so here’s my regal attempt
to call out my constant contempt.

The tense muscle, toes curling
intense reflex type of aversion
have to look away
kind of public display
is quite a strong affliction
for someone who claims indifference.

There’s a passion in aversion
a self-preservation so determined
because I don’t fear what’s not special
I fear the things that have potential
so when asked for proof, I’m self-destructive
with only answers in the form of assumptions.

To be one who feels so vehemently
there’s a very distinct possibility
that I falsely identified
the feeling of butterflies
as a sickness to the stomach
because my anxiety was confronted.

Could it really be a coincidence
that the girl with issues so intimate
always just so happens
to never find attraction?
As if I could accurately gage
fingers on the pulse of tangled veins.

Maybe I was just nervous
because on paper it was perfect
and I’m not used to face to face
facing my weakness, facing my strength
and I know I said I didn’t feel any romance
but the truth is, I didn’t give it a fighting chance.

– Valerie Parente (2-21-2024)

No Cobwebs

February 1, 2024February 7, 2024Leave a comment

No Cobwebs by Valerie Parente

The corners of my mind
are cobweb free
from the ever so incessant
repetitive activity.

I’ve never had the patience
to let the dust settle
and I know you need time
to let yourself develop.

Inside this headspace
I struggle to comprehend
why I want the same thing
over and over again.

The surfaces I touch
succumb to age
but here I am
nestled in the same place.

There are no cobwebs
when you always need to be clean
and it is this habit
that makes it hard to leave.

– Valerie Parente (2-1-2024)

If Only My Thoughts Could Fly Away

January 7, 2024March 3, 2024Leave a comment

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)

Don’t Cry for Me

December 22, 2023December 22, 2023Leave a comment

Don’t Cry for Me by Valerie Parente

My innocence was bid
once I had unwanted thoughts
so don’t you dare patronize me
with a sign of a cross.
You beg for my forgiveness
from the very same God
that gave me my condition
when I didn’t ask to be flawed.
I make my own power
in the way that I respond
that is in my control
and your control of me is lost.

– Valerie Parente (12-22-2023)

Quandary

December 10, 2023Leave a comment

Quandary by Valerie Parente

Am I my irrational thoughts
or am I the one that recognizes their insanity?
Could I be innocent
now that I think of it?

– Valerie Parente (12-10-2023)

Heresy

November 19, 2023November 19, 2023Leave a comment

Heresy by Valerie Parente

Who am I
to declare what is
and isn’t
right?

And who are you
to decide which words are
and are not
taboo?

What is
an intrusive thought
if not
an act of God?

It all means nothing
until you assign it meaning
so wield your power
like it’s the only thing to believe in.

– Valerie Parente (11-18-2023)

Ship In A Bottle

August 23, 2023August 24, 2023Leave a comment

Ship In A Bottle by Valerie Parente

I was meant to go places
but I was too afraid
so I hid in a bottle
and became a display.
Trying to preserve myself
might have been a mistake
because now I crave touch
but I’m perfectly encased.
Now I’ve come to realize
as I get older with age
I wasn’t fragile to begin with
I made myself this way
piecing myself together
in a teeny tiny space.
I limited my horizon
when I had potential for waves
but I know better now
this glass, I can break
and when the shards fall
I won’t be bound to one place.