Antidote by Valerie Parente
There was a lot of angst and frustration
but the antidote to that bitterness
was to be exposed in all my distress
that’s why I documented it
knowing one day you would notice
and I didn’t care if you agreed
I just cared about being seen.
– Valerie Parente (5-26-2021)
Wisteria by Valerie Parente
The wisteria drapes
like lavender rain
and I am amazed
by the floral display.
Took several years to grow
the perennials above the road
so pure when it overflows
yet toxic in a small dose.
They say to beware
of this invasive plant
overtaking the land
but I am not scared.
I have become one with the infection
that plagued my intentions
so pretty, so prevalent
as I embrace the evidence.
Long live the twining
of nature’s signage
like calligraphy winding
in a language so binding.
The wisteria dominates
any glimpse of sun rays
but I could never hate
sitting under the shade.
– Valerie Parente (5-25-2021)
The Gift (I) by Valerie Parente
You didn’t break me
you broke down everything around me
so that I could see
what it really means
to be me.
– Valerie Parente (5-24-2021)
Lady Luna and The Haunted by Valerie Parente
Eventually Lady Luna realized
that the ones most haunted
are the ghosts themselves
because those entities embody
the very thing we have in common
a soul suspending from the wanting
a better life from the past onward
and Lady Luna’s epiphany started
when she felt the collective conscience
it said, “pain is just an option
a pattern we fall into, far too often
because time dictates losses
but acceptance is the calling
that heals all who have fallen”.
What is
has always been,
what isn’t
is only an influence
on the attitude you choose to invest in
not the reality your soul is within.
– Valerie Parente (5-24-2021)
Erudite by Valerie Parente
I went to hell and back,
studying my mental turmoil,
started as a kid with a task,
to get attention from the whole world.
When you’re a confused teen,
you feel so damn invisible,
then one special boy sees,
that’s when life got difficult.
I was always obsessive in nature,
and my imagination was a priority,
a perfectionist that was insecure,
so I excessively daydreamed.
I had talent back then,
but I didn’t use it for good,
I delved in sickness instead,
when one boy no longer looked.
Ten years gone, ten years dismissing,
that’s what the anorexia did,
ten years studying, ten years witnessing,
all the trauma adolescence inflicted.
It was circumstantial and biochemical,
and now I finally understand,
if there was any hope for normal,
I sure as hell didn’t stand a chance.
Now I’m a young woman with a pen,
and I’ve examined my psyche well,
as an expert on where I’ve been,
I make art in the name of mental health.
Believe it or not,
I wouldn’t change any single thing,
all the anguish I fought,
it helped me see another dimension.
There’s compassion in the stories I write,
there’s understanding behind each phrase,
there’s a past that helps me empathize,
there’s a purpose that will never go away.
I no longer think in terms of “me”,
I see your conscience and its fight,
my every move doesn’t need to be seen,
but I’ll shed light if it helps your life.
This is our world to better,
we are the children of the moon,
using psychology we study together,
out of the lunacy we’ve been through.
I’m going to nurture someone, someday,
in a cycle I finally want to be part of,
and that sentient bundle can embrace,
a worldview where mental health is honored.
– Valerie Parente (5-22-2021)
Obsidian Dagger by Valerie Parente
If you think about messing with her
think again,
she’s got this obsidian dagger
in her right hand,
ready to cut you up
into a celestial blend,
fall out of touch
you’ll get the glossy edge,
a ritual of writing
ready to commence,
her way of fighting
a black glass weapon,
make no mistake
it’s all self defense,
for this ebony blade
she’ll never lament,
she takes a phrase
like a witch in a garden,
praising mental states
for the efflorescence,
dare you take her art
under a false pretense,
she’ll slice you apart
then wish you the best,
’cause she comes from stardust
the same place you’ve been,
but a language monarch
can bring you back to heaven,
she’s only just begun
so due and diligent,
with that silver on her tongue
and a dagger of obsidian.
– Valerie Parente (5-22-2021)
Blue to Green by Valerie Parente
From blue to green,
a pool of tears
feed the tree
just like the pain
that lived in me,
the key to life
in my bloodstream,
the blood on my skin,
always life’s key,
lying in the grass
not lost at sea,
you hurt then you learn,
a gradient to green.
Now green, from blue,
once so sad
but then I grew
because heartache
changes you
in the color
of a bruise
and I can’t heal
without the proof
so writing it out
was how I moved
across the spectrum
now green, from blue.
– Valerie Parente (5-21-2021)
You’re Just Hunger with Sentience by Valerie Parente
You’re just hunger
with sentience
and I’ll forever
be hellbent
on empathizing
with the energy
that’s sacrificed
so I can breathe.
– Valerie Parente (5-17-2021)
Penmanship by Valerie Parente
Your penmanship
is so personal
and I’ve been reading
with a purpose.
Now he’s writing
on the surface
with sweet words
in messy cursive,
a little overwhelming
but so damn worth it
and I don’t mind
being nervous
because anxiety
with my favorite person
sits on a page
so imperfectly perfect.
– Valerie Parente (5-12-2021)
With The Tide by Valerie Parente
I decided a long time ago,
that I was going to be alright,
when that first disappointment hit,
I looked my reflection in the eyes,
said, “I will never get over this,
but I will certainly survive.”
Sunny days always came,
the sadness ebbs with the tide.
I remember my teenage self,
and I refuse to waste her time.
I’m a product of those days,
as they were a product of my mind.
You don’t need to forget
for your pain to subside,
you just need to accept
that this is your timeline.
– Valerie Parente (5-10-2021)
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