The Creator’s Paradox

The Creator’s Paradox by Valerie Parente

What am I
if not God’s art?
God creates perfection
but you say that I’m wrong
and in the same virtuous breath
that I was made in His image all along.
How can the thing that created everything
be a pillar of perfection but create a world of flaws?

Every abomination
was someone’s creation
can we say the creator is sick
but not their rules and their laws
either I am a masterpiece, so idealistic
or I was a mistake never meant to spawn
but the one thing I know for sure is that I exist
so it would be insanity to say that there is no God.

The creator must be an artist
because our existence is a paradox
the goal of art is not to appear perfect
the goal is to express a breath and a thought.

– Valerie Parente (11-11-2025)

Incarnate

Incarnate by Valerie Parente

If the soul is something invisible
then why do certain songs make my soul feel seen?
And if my consciousness is divisible
then why do centuries of stories have the same theme?
If I didn’t choose this body
then why do I pick my own brain?
If I didn’t choose this journey
then why did I incarnate?
If true essence is impossible to capture
then why can art mirror my mind?
If there is no such thing as life after
then why does lost love linger behind?

I don’t think anyone really knows
what we’re doing here
but if there was ever a clue
it wouldn’t be in what makes sense, but how we feel.

– Valerie Parente (4-6-2025)

Incense

Incense by Valerie Parente

These incense
in a scent
bid my innocence
in a sense
’cause I am aware
of the consciousness we share
like smoke everywhere
as it fills the sweet air.

– Valerie Parente (4-23-2021)