Love Is Immortal by Valerie Parente
Love
is when your soul
recognizes another soul
and you’ll know when you feel that love
because the body will seem as inanimate as clay
while the ego is just an arbitrary layer in space
and the light you sense through this reality charade
could ignite an entire universe with a single gaze
Because love
is when two energies combine
and spawn an endless chain of life.
– Valerie Parente (2-7-2020)
Connection by Valerie Parente
I’ve been looking for a way out of this mind
And somewhere along the line I realized
that connecting to someone else was my way out
and that’s why I acted like it was do or die
when I recognized your third eye
I was crazy and intense and emotions were high
because I swore this connection was my only chance
to be freed from the pain I idealized
and when you say something I really want to know why
because finally I’m intrigued by a mind other than mine.
– Valerie Parente (2-6-2020)
Playtime by Valerie Parente
He doesn’t know how emotions work
that’s why he plays with mine
like building blocks
towering so high.
But if you’re going to toy with me
then make me your doll
because I’d rather feel pretty
than be built up to fall.
– Valerie Parente (2-2-2020)
Cruelty & Credulity by Valerie Parente
Not knowing what is normal has become the norm for me.
And not knowing what’s real has become my reality.
I’m trying to be mindful of what’s fabricated in my mind.
So the cruelest thing you could do is make me believe that my perception is make-believe.
– Valerie Parente (1-31-2020)
It’s Not You, It’s Me by Valerie Parente
the problem isn’t you
it’s me
and my inability
to see you differently
– Valerie Parente (1-29-2020)
Profound or just bitter? by Valerie Parente
“I’ve come to the conclusion
that everybody who is in a relationship
is hiding from themself,”
said the bitter 25 year old girl.
– Valerie Parente (1-16-2020)
I’m The Crazy One by Valerie Parente
I’m the crazy one
because I say how I feel right from the start
I’m the crazy one
because I’m brutally honest in all of my art
I’m the crazy one
because I try so hard to be my own savior
then fall prey to self-destructive behavior
and I’m not fucking sure who to trust
the girl I’ve rationalized within me
or the crazy one you all claim to see.
– Valerie Parente (1-11-2020)
Ripped Open by Valerie Parente
My heart did not break,
it was opened up.
Sometimes it feels like we’ve been destroyed
when we’ve actually evolved into better versions of ourselves.
– Valerie Parente (1-5-2020)
Ghosts In My Room by Valerie Parente
I see ghosts in my room
maybe because I have room for them too
they flicker and repeat like static on TV
and I’m not sure why I can see these figures in front of me
but it happens in the middle of the night, every single week.
I feel like the images I perceive
are from a dimension I shouldn’t see
always a body without a face
shadowy figures with no name
hosting a sentience in their flashing shapes.
Sometimes it’s one figure, sometimes it’s two or three
No matter the amount they’re always unique
a defining trait like a baseball cap or bangs
they always move in a particular way
and I can’t tell if they know they’re in my space.
When I see those ghosts in the night
my recurrent thought is, “You know I can see you, right?”
it almost seems like they don’t realize where they are
and I’m not sure why all of a sudden they turned up
but they’ve been showing up ever since my greatest loss.
After two months I asked one beside my bed
“How are you?” to the flashing silhouette
it gave me the middle finger
another motion in flickers
so I just laid back as it lingered.
Some people tell me I should be afraid
that ghosts are an energy I shouldn’t entertain
but I truly feel that they are harmless
and my intuition says that they have no ill intent
if anything they feel like gentle friends.
Some people say that I’m just hallucinating
that these beings are of my own making
but gut feelings never lie
and I know what I’m feeling inside
and I’m feeling that they’re separate from my mind.
I always give it a few seconds
look around to see if it’s just in my head
when I look back the images are still prevalent
in all the same outlines and repetitive movements
and to be perfectly honest, I am comforted by their existence.
– Valerie Parente (1-3-2020)
Self-Preservation by Valerie Parente
It’s not being prude
its self-preservation
it’s protecting thyself from everyone else
in an attempt to preserve
the life lessons I’ve earned
because what could be worse
than losing the individual I learned.
I swear, this fear of intimacy
is not a fear of what’s in me
it’s fear of a touch that might corrupt
everything I’ve ever dreamed of.
Because what happens when I open up?
Would it change the person I was?
I’ve spent a lifetime learning who I am
and I’m so deeply scared
of my worldview crumbling at another’s hand.
– Valerie Parente (1-3-2020)
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