Dead To Me by Valerie Parente
Go ahead and be dead to me,
but don’t be surprised when I grieve.
– Valerie Parente (9-3-2020)
Dead To Me
Tag: Valerie Parente
The Magic of Writing
The Magic of Writing by Valerie Parente
Sometimes when I write poetry
I have one particular line
then I build around it over time
with specific syllables and rhymes
while forming a story-line.
Sometimes when I write prose
I have a thought in my mind
and as it starts to materialize
I come to gradually realize
an ongoing theme that transpires.
I think writing is pure magic
because I hear a phrase in my brain
then use a pen to translate
and tap into your mental space
with ease and literary grace.
– Valerie Parente (9-1-2020)
We Walked A Fine Line
We Walked A Fine Line by Valerie Parente
The thing about walking a fine line is that it’s easy to cross it from time to time
without actively recognizing the depth of the clouded horizon
because if it’s distance you’ve walked you need to be able to spot
how far you’ve come and how far you have to run
before the darkness takes over the sky and there’s no more hope to realize
that when you walk a very thin line it is bound to snap in no time.
– Valerie Parente (8-27-2020)
Homesick
Homesick by Valerie Parente
They say home is a state of mind
but I’ve been homesick for quite some time
trying to find solace in words and rhymes
because a replacement for you is so hard to find.
I’m just a poet looking for a place to belong
a mindset I’ve compensated for, for so long
ever since that one safe haven went wrong
and our house burned to the ground.
It’s been 12 years wandering the same path
and I wonder when I’ll finally get sick of that,
I think it’s time to hold my breath and go back
and find peace of mind in that other half.
– Valerie Parente (8-25-2020)
Poetry Reading & Analysis (Potential In Action ~ Good Grief ~ Playing With Storms (Diagnose Me) (VIDEO)
Features “Potential In Action”, “Good Grief”,
and “Playing With Storms (Diagnose Me)”
from Rather Be Haunted on Amazon.com
The Very Real Reality
The Very Real Reality by Valerie Parente
I talk openly about my mental health
in the hopes that it helps
the people who have a hard time with words
who need a voice that understands the hurt.
These themes revolve around love and loss
and how it replays in obsessive thoughts.
To some it may not seem pretty
but a light needs to be shined on OCD
instead of just ridiculed and teased
because this is the very real reality.
These are not personal attacks, they’re symptoms of a mental disorder
it’s not commentary on anybody except the sufferer.
I pray you can separate yourself from my mental health journey and find solace in this truth,
that when it comes down to brain chemistry, this has nothing to do with you.
You deserve to lead a life that is happy and free
but please, don’t look for that through me.
– Valerie Parente (8-21-2020)
I Don’t Care About “I’m Sorry”
I Don’t Care About “I’m Sorry” by Valerie Parente
Over a decade of deep hurt
frustration that became a part of me
I longed for an explanation to return
but I don’t care about “I’m sorry”.
I realize I’m not going to be cured
by someone else’s apology.
I need to do the inner work
to become the savior I want to be
and I’m flattered by the remorse
but I can’t depend on a back and forth
to remind me of my self-worth
when I can find solace in my own words.
– Valerie Parente (8-20-2020)
Poetry Reading & Analysis (The Silver Screen ~ Ink ~ Mars) (VIDEO)
Features “The Silver Screen”, “Ink”, and “Mars”
from The Artist, The Muse on Amazon.com
Swift Relief
Swift Relief by Valerie Parente
How beautiful
it is to see
another artist
blossoming
I feel her pain, and I admire her words
my mind feels heard, even though its her’s
and what a swift relief
when I detach from me
I finally feel free
as folklore speaks
another being’s story.
Its nice to feel haunted
by someone other than me
to feel a sense of sanity
through another’s humanity.
– Valerie Parente (8-9-2020)
“In Touch” Excerpt (VIDEO)
Happy 2 year anniversary since I published my realistic fiction novel
about obsessive compulsive disorder, “In Touch“!
In honor of the anniversary I read an excerpt from the novel on my YouTube channel.
Book Summary: “Undergraduate physics student, Jef Sterling, has done enough textbook reading to know that the universe is home to countless mind-blowing discoveries. But Jef never expected one of those discoveries to be the mind of an obsessive compulsive writer sharing the same campus as him. After reading a poem by Lacey Parker about her personal struggle with OCD, Jef’s highly rational brain fixates on uncovering the mysteries held captive in Lacey’s highly irrational brain. Throughout the course of a school year these two students exchange ideas that merge science with art, reality with fantasy, and physical phenomena with mental phenomena. While learning from one another Jef makes it his mission to make sense of Lacey’s nonsensical disorder and all of its incredible ironies; how she lives by the notion of feeling everything emotionally but dreads feeling anything physically, how her mind lives to protect as it gradually wreaks destruction, and most paradoxically how both Lacey’s most rewarding qualities and most detrimental flaws manifest from the same brain. In Touch by Valerie Parente is a realistic fiction novel alive with intellectual discussion, mental strife, heartache, and anecdotal insight into the cognitive confines of obsessive compulsive disorder.”
valerieparente 