Through Hell (Is The Way Out) by Valerie Parente
The longer you feed that unhealthy mental state,
trying and trying to avoid the tallest flames,
that fire is only going to expand its space,
and engulf you into a larger blaze.
I had to go through a brutal kind of hell,
to address a prolonged flaw with my mental health,
a problem that put too much pressure on someone else,
and now I finally feel like the best version of myself.
– Valerie Parente (3-10-2021)
Please Keep Your Cynicism To Yourself by Valerie Parente
Cynicism is a choice.
It is a choice to be void.
You are welcome to not believe in a higher being,
but don’t you dare shut down those who found it and its meaning;
people who have crawled out of the darkness of addiction and grief,
people who survived because they had something outside themself to believe.
If you look at these miracles and roll your eyes at the world,
and think “I’m way too smart to believe in something more”,
then your problem isn’t intelligence,
your problem is stone cold arrogance.
Just because you do not see the benefit of it,
does not mean the benefit does not exist.
Please, do the world a favor next time,
when you want to shame the people who survived,
treat the world like you treat the herbs you smoke,
take a deep breathe, then let it go.
– Valerie Parente (3-10-2021)
One Thing Is Certain… Seasons Change by Valerie Parente
Days are getting longer,
sunlight shining down,
the sound of burning rubber,
in this cute little town,
and I wouldn’t change a thing,
even if it kept you around.
Sitting on these bleachers,
so far below the clouds,
last year I sat here in torment,
wondering where, when, and how
I’d ever begin to forget the good times,
unaware remembering was allowed.
I mistook peace for apathy,
clinging on to a heavy frown,
thinking loneliness all alone,
was worse than loneliness in a crowd,
but I’ve found my peace of mind,
and in my lonesome it was found.
I’m happier today,
with my feet on the ground,
no more unfair expectations,
in a psyche so loud,
I proved I can survive,
a sadness so profound,
it didn’t make sense at the time,
but I can make sense of it now.
– Valerie Parente (3-9-2021)
Pixie Dust by Valerie Parente
Little nymph with rainbow wings,
sprinkling pixie dust,
making the darkness sparkle,
with her magic touch.
Little fairy with sharp intuition,
seeing auras through glass eyes,
your energy is clear to her,
even when you try to hide.
Little creature of the forest,
with empathy like the stars,
she envisions how you feel,
dividing light in equal parts.
Their whimsical spirits exceed the days,
like totems passed down the human race,
so very minuscule in this time and place,
yet endless in the sentiments they convey.
– Valerie Parente (3-8-2021)
Abandoned Castle by Valerie Parente
She thought she had it all figured out
when she was young
dreaming of a big grand castle
glowing under the sun.
She thought she would live in a fairytale
when she grew up
dancing in a glorious castle
a place to fall in love.
The years piled on
the castle’s appeal faded.
Some say she grew up
some say she grew jaded.
Love is not as simple
as the moss that covers stone.
Dreams are not meaningful
until you fail, then you grow.
Now ivy on the walls
climbs up so very tall
and with dreams so big
she began to feel small.
That’s when the abandonment happened
and she realized fantasies can cause harm
often inflated by a toxic desire
so she decided to move on.
Tale be told, she abandoned her castle
but that is no more than folklore;
she didn’t abandon that castle
that castle abandoned her
and that turned out to be
the castle’s greatest favor
for when the fantasizing ceased
she began to enjoy the real world.
– Valerie Parente (3-7-2021)
The Hurt, The Heal, The Hope by Valerie Parente
I felt myself hurt
as I reflected on the feelings that defined my past.
I felt myself heal
as I made sense of the psyche that defined my present.
And I felt myself hope
as I realized what I wanted was not what I need in my future.
This is the trajectory that permeated my inner rhythmic monologue.
This is the process that helped me uncover my faults.
This is my manifesto that I long to share with you all.
– Valerie Parente (3-2-2021)
Moonlight by Valerie Parente
I used to be haunted,
at the mercy of the night,
but now the night lives in me,
so I manipulate the moonlight.
I used to see ghosts,
trapped in space and time,
but now I see this reality,
without the irrational fright.
I know I obsess in phases,
and that gave me the insight,
that fixations are not fixed,
they’re just a state of mind.
Like water that flows,
as the moon controls the tide,
moods always come and go,
that’s just a part of life.
I am more than my mental state,
I am a body with moonlight inside,
call it energy, call it a soul,
call it proof of a spiritual kind.
– Valerie Parente (2-28-2021)
These Laurels Were Not Meant To Rest by Valerie Parente
Imagine, imagine, imagine.
When the world is mundane
I give it my passion
another artistic era
to rise from the ashes.
Create, create, create.
People say I should be satisfied
but I need to formulate
an endless stream of words
from this mental landscape.
Another rhyme, another day,
another opportunity for artistic display.
These laurels were not meant to rest,
in this garden I’ll always progress,
so ever-evolving, so evergreen,
like the creativity that lives within me.
– Valerie Parente (2-26-2021)
Sentience by Valerie Parente
My favorite kind of poetry
is the meta kind,
like a Russian doll
with another doll inside,
when I’m self-aware
of the mirror outside
and there’s manipulation
to what’s materialized.
No I’m no mother
but I birth what I write,
no I’m no nest
but I am my own shrine.
I am my perception
manifested from eyes.
I am a feedback loop
in the world’s design.
– Valerie Parente (2-23-2021)
Sage for Sage by Valerie Parente
Cleanse the room
like I’ve cleansed myself.
Heal the collective conscience
and its mental health.
The air and its smoke
is so much bigger than you
but we are all connected
to the wisdom’s roots.
Sage for sage,
please accompany me.
Sage for sage,
I will learn as I breathe.
– Valerie Parente (2-16-2021)
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