Joshua Adam Walker

What the Water Knows

The river does not speak of bones,
nor whisper all the names it keeps.
It hums in tongues the current owns,
a language swallowed by the deep.
The water knows the ones who fell—
the lovers lost, the hands ungrasped.
It sways beneath the funeral knell,
a cradle where the nameless clasped.
It carries sins no priest absolves,
no parish hymn can pierce its bed.
Yet when it stirs, it soft resolves
the line between the lost and dead.
It never tells, it never shows,
but oh, my god, what water knows.

Joshua Walker resides in Oklahoma City, where he explores themes of memory, perception, and the unseen in his poetry. His work is influenced by his experiences with schizoaffective disorder, blending psychological depth with lyrical intensity. His poetry has been published in Fib Review, Quibble, Wells St. Journal, Disabled Tales, and Solarpunk Magazine. With over 135,000 followers on Bluesky, he is dedicated to keeping the art of timeless verse alive in the modern world.