Undying Wish by Valerie Parente
The best thing you can do
for the loved ones you lose
is live the very best life
you’re able to.
– Valerie Parente (9-19-2026)
Undying Wish
Tag: poem
Smile!
Smile!
by Valerie Parente
Why does he care
if I smile
without caring
about what makes me smile?
Something about the curvature of my mouth
makes him feel better about himself.
They say this is a man’s world
and this man’s world is burning
but if I can’t smile on command
that’s more concerning
because then we would have to address
that this world is inadequate
but they want us complacent
so they tell us to fake it
but by all means, it’s reprehensible
if a woman doesn’t smile against her will.
– Valerie Parente (9-18-2026)
Kintsugi
Kintsugi by Valerie Parente
I am still beautiful
even though I am broken
paint these cracks you see
with something golden.
When I broke
it was really an opportunity
for something valuable
to seep inside of me.
My life is richer
because of my flaws
dying pristine and perfect
would mean I didn’t get too far.
– Valerie Parente (9-7-2026)
When I Met You I Became Brave
When I Met You I Became Brave
by Valerie Parente
When I met you I became brave
I became someone who moves forward
even though they’re afraid.
It’s not an absence of fear
it’s just fear with a name
because my world became whole
and now that I know the stakes
I choose to live in spite of the fear
I choose to keep going anyway.
And that, to me, is what it means to be brave,
to be someone who looks forward
to the next day.
– Valerie Parente (8-29-2026)
Vigil
Vigil by Valerie Parente
I mourn all the art
that doesn’t see the light of day.
I mourn all the words
that go unread on a page.
I mourn all the means of expression
that get stifled within.
I mourn all the girls who play dumb
and turn codependent.
I mourn all the universe’s signs
that people ignore.
I mourn all the sullen voices
begging to be heard.
We hold these vigils
to guide the way for those lost
may the light of a trillion candles
illuminate their path out the dark.
– Valerie Parente (8-29-2026)
Skeletons (Girls Like Playing 1)
Skeletons (Girls Like Playing 1)
by Valerie Parente
All these women
hooked on GLP1s
playing anorexic
simply for the fun
reaping the side effects
of starvation
brain fog and sunken cheeks
bone deterioration
but it’s okay when they do it
with a doctor’s authorization
a society of zombies
that’s the motivation
no we aren’t supposed to look like skeletons
but Girls Like Playing 1.
– Valerie Parente (8-17-2026)
Survivor
Survivor
by Valerie Parente
I am not a victim
I am a survivor.
I am not that broken little girl
I am the one who revived her.
I am not my circumstance
I am the good it inspired.
I am not worse for it all
I am the wiser.
I don’t remember the pain you gave me
I remember the power I acquired
because when the darkness came for me
I lit up like a fire.
– Valerie Parente (8-9-2026)
Poiesis (Life is the Art)
Poiesis
(Life is the Art)
by Valerie Parente
I only fear death
when I think of all the art left unfinished.
But life is no conquest
it has design, that of an artist.
So when their tears fall
like paint, they’ll fall for me
when their tears fall
my greatest masterpiece will be complete.
– Valerie Parente (8-6-2026)
White Noise
White Noise by Valerie Parente
When I go to sleep
I need the white noise
because if it’s too quiet
I can hear my inner voice
and I don’t want to know
what it says about me
when I’m alone
and no one else can intervene.
When I’m alone
I want to stay disillusioned
that the world is still buzzing
without my movement.
I want to stay unimportant
that my problems are nothing
but a tiny side effect
of a mind that needs numbing.
– Valerie Parente (8-1-2026)
Blue Sky
Blue Sky by Valerie Parente
I had a dream
where the blue sky went away
and the earth changed the speed it rotates
and the new speed changed the sky to black
but when the world’s speed came back
we felt the shift on the earth
and the blue sky returned
and every single person who walked outside to see the sky
bursted out and cried.
Nobody could stop themself
from feeling moved
after realizing how grateful they were
that the sky is blue.
– Valerie Parente (7-26-2026)
