Glass Houses
We hide behind glass—
thin, trembling breath,
shattered silence,
each crack a raw wound,
a secret bleeding light.
Truth fractures us—
yet in jagged breaks,
strength flickers, trembling,
not a mask, but a mirror.
To break is to be seen;
to be seen is to live—
not despite the cracks—
because the cracks are us.
Neon Revival
The city hums—
fractured prayers pulse neon,
veins of cold electric light.
Static swallows sound,
but beneath noise—
a flare relentless, alive.
Hope blazes fierce,
a wildfire waiting,
igniting dark streets,
guiding lost souls home
on waves of flickering fire.
Joshua Walker, known as The Last Bard, is a freelance poet and writer based in Oklahoma City. His work blends mythology, mental health, and modern isolation, and has appeared in Potomac Review, Southern Florida Poetry Journal, Solarpunk Magazine, Libre, Kelp Review, and others. In 2025, he was nominated for both a Pushcart Prize and a Best Microfiction prize. Walker’s poetry bridges ancient tradition and contemporary struggle, confronting beauty and despair with equal ferocity.
Featured Image: Tubos geisler by Ana sol lara under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
