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 is the art and my soul is the 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 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)
Transcendent Beings by Valerie Parente
When I dream
my body doesn’t come with me.
I don’t worry about the where when and why
I simply believe
and it’s already mine.
When I hope
I just need to feel it to know.
Nature doesn’t need to run it by me
like a river that flows
along my conscious stream.
There are hints all around
embedded in the sensory
that when it’s all said and done
we are transcendent beings.
I am not the life I live
through my thoughts
I am the dream that goes on
when they shut off.
– Valerie Parente (7-23-2026)
Metamorphosis by Valerie Parente
Is this the beginning of the end
or the end of the beginning?
Because I’m still me
but my world is shifting
from the safety of a cocoon
to the wind that is whistling
and as my story unfolds
I wonder how much is scripted
because they say to spread my wings
and I’ve decided to listen
but only time will tell
if this is the end or the beginning.
– Valerie Parente (7-19-2026)
home is as close to you as your heart by Valerie Parente
It’s not running away
if I bring home with me.
There’s no need to be afraid
that my love will leave
because it was always your love
that had a way of moving me.
I am only as far away
as the heart that I keep.
You are only as far away
as the heart inside you that beats.
– Valerie Parente (7-3-2026)
Ephemeral by Valerie Parente
There’s nothing you could say
that would ever scare me
I only fear
no longer hearing you speak.
– Valerie Parente (6-28-2026)
Ends of the Earth
by Valerie Parente
I would go
to the ends of the earth
to make sure you know
just how much you’re worth
stretched out past the atmosphere
beyond the boundaries of the world
yes for you I would go
to the ends of the earth
because you’re less of a planet
and more of an entire universe.
– Valerie Parente (6-21-2026)
pray/prey by Valerie Parente
You pray to men
while you prey on women
and we’re all supposed to pretend
we don’t notice the difference.
You tell women to do all these things
to protect themselves from men
as you tell men to put their hands together
and continue to say amen.
There is minimal accountability
for the dangers men create
many of them see women in peril
and do nothing to make a change
instead they rely on a man in the sky
to have the courage they won’t take
because even with all the cards in their hands
they still deflect the blame
and hope the man in the sky
will deal with the hell they made.
It’s not about fault
it’s about women feeling somewhat okay
while the patriarchy that runs the world
continues to make it unsafe
under the guise of faith.
– Valerie Parente (5-24-2026)
The Carnival is Back in Town
by Valerie Parente
The carnival
is back in town
and it gives me a feeling
so profound
the way we build it up
just to tear it down
like our expectations
before we all found
that the promise of adulthood
wasn’t safe and sound
it’s a game of chance
to outgrow these clowns
but that ferris wheel
it still goes around
same crazy ride
with a different crowd
and year after year
on these fairgrounds
you remember when life was fair
but it’s not fair now.
There was an innocence then
that childhood allowed
but if you listen carefully
you’ll still hear it loud
the sound of the carnival
when it’s back in town
a fleeting state
that cannot be bound.
– Valerie Parente (5-16-2026)
Many Women, Some Men by Valerie Parente
Many women play dumb
as not to offend
because to anger some men
could mean her life’s end.
Many women go ghost
as not to piss off
fearing rejection
could mean her life stops.
Many women hold their keys
as a means to defend
between the knuckles
where her life depends.
Many women smile back
as a way to pretend
because if she disapproves
her life could be threatened.
Some men need an explicit signal
but when they receive that, they attack
then turn around and blame women
for putting on an act.
And the knee-jerk reaction
is to say “not all men”
but what do you call it when a small portion
affects every single woman?
– Valerie Parente (4-24-2026)
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