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)
Divine Design by Valerie Parente
There’s no such thing as coincidence,
there has to be design,
because how can I find the perfect words,
that just so happen to rhyme?
You’re telling me poets are just lucky?
That language just so happens to coincide,
that there’s rhythm to the psyche,
that can be written in artistic lines,
that the material world naturally mirrors,
the effortless world inside my mind?
No, I don’t believe in luck,
I believe in the divine,
based on every one of your points,
used to describe otherwise.
– Valerie Parente (6-15-2021)
Your Wardrobe by Valerie Parente
They wrapped you up
when you were born
covered your autonomy
in societal norms.
How do you express yourself
when you can’t be loud?
How do you wear your psyche
while it wears you out?
How can this be you
but not what you’re about?
How do you untangle your episodes
from the threads on your clothes
wrapped in a neurotic wardrobe
when all you want is to be exposed?
– Valerie Parente (6-15-2021)
Quintessence by Valerie Parente
You didn’t have to try too hard with this one,
it came from the quintessence,
picking up that brilliant oak wand,
tracing words, not weapons,
they’ve been harnessed from spirits,
the whispers from the heavens,
the damned called you mad,
but you were really just present,
hearing what is here all along,
commentary from another dimension,
you can hear it if you choose to live,
and then learn from your lessons,
your scars are your wisdom,
may you honor their impression,
and at the end of each day,
you will feel the quintessence.
– Valerie Parente (6-15-2021)
The Harpy At Curtain Call (A Fantasy Chronicle) by Valerie Parente
She’s got violet wings
claws for scratching
getting under your skin
with her keen language
a harpy at curtail call
a village so appalled
jet black eyes in a stupor
no irises, all pupils
absorbing all of the light
scanning the horizon for flight
so formidable to the townsfolk
like the creeper when exposed
and right before she takes off
she prays to the dawn
because she has so much fear
when the night inches near
because it’s easier to see the horizon
when the light is there for guiding
and she has so much faith
at the beginning of the day.
– Valerie Parente (6-13-2021)
Spectrum by Valerie Parente
It’s a matter of fact
I still wear a lot of black
’cause I don’t want to distract
from the artwork’s impact.
My brain never stays silent
that’s why I love violet
it’s the color of my mindset
and every word I rhyme best.
Ever since the day I bled
I’ve been a little afraid of red
but I’m making it represent
the passion in my chest.
Now I’m talking to you
somber shades of blue
you’re just a point of view
I could get accustomed to.
That’s why I graduated my scene
to ripe gradients of green
’cause you represent my dream
to find wisdom in agony.
I’m trying to balance my mind
so I’m wearing more white
since the darkness highlights
when I look on the bright side.
– Valerie Parente (6-12-2021)
Shine by Valerie Parente
Never wore white
but I thought I’d try
’cause the darkness inside
learned how to shine.
– Valerie Parente (6-12-2021)
Cosmic Web by Valerie Parente
No illustrations this time,
only words to sway your mind,
I want you to read and absorb,
into your own mental world,
the manifesto alludes my intentions,
tell me how it fits in your dimension,
because my experiences come from me,
but when spoken they fill a collective stream,
in this sense, we are all connected,
a cosmic web that needs no mention,
like a dreamcatcher catching dreams,
we’re all interwoven miraculously,
come, tell me your name,
come, into the infinite space.
– Valerie Parente (6-8-2021)
Catharsis by Valerie Parente
When she asked “How do you deal with the toxicity of the public?”
I said “Write, write, write,
channel all your frustration in creation,
create, create, create,
channel all your energy into artistic placement,
paint words into memorable phrases,
find meaning in the oddest places,
make a collection of your lessons,
help the lost find their blessings,
the hardship will always get better,
and the wisdom goes on forever,
find your catharsis and give it away,
translate the world that lives in your brain,
be the God you want God to be,
and then you will find your peace.”
– Valerie Parente (6-7-2021)
I Want To Be Heard by Valerie Parente
It’s not that I want to be famous,
it’s that I want to be heard,
and I know I can touch you,
if you get in touch with my words.
I took a lot of carefully constructed time,
from a child to the adult I am now,
I try my best to add a positive spin,
a piece of beauty in an ugly crowd.
There is nothing more important than a voice,
I realized that when I was a sick teen,
and if you don’t like what you hear,
you sure as hell have the right to intervene.
I saw a lot of talk about mental disorders,
that glamorized the illness over healing,
and I knew right then and there,
I wanted to patch over the bleeding.
There are always silver linings to our pain,
and it took a long time for me to see them,
but the one thing that saves me every day,
is the process of creating and artistic freedom.
I didn’t go through hell for nothing,
mental health awareness is the goal,
there’s a darkness we can manipulate,
shedding light in the shadows.
Make it meta, make it metaphorical,
make these poems layered infinitely,
I’ve got your back and that’s a promise,
if you’re kind enough to listen to me.
– Valerie Parente (6-7-2021)
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