Empyrean
  • Featured
  • Poetry
  • Fiction
  • Contests
    • Poetry Contest
    • Fiction Contest
    • Non-Fiction Contest
  • Support us
  • Advertise with us
  • General Submissions
  • Moon Submissions
  • Zodiac Submissions
  • Issues
  • Featured
  • Poetry
  • Fiction
  • Contests
    • Poetry Contest
    • Fiction Contest
    • Non-Fiction Contest
  • Support us
  • Advertise with us
  • General Submissions
  • Moon Submissions
  • Zodiac Submissions
  • Issues
Working: Volume 2, Number 3 - Issue 7 Autumn 2023

Con Game​

Issue 7
I lie awake
To the wee small hours counting my mistakes
And I’m terrified of the errors that I have made
It sits on my chest
It’s crushing me, it steals my every breath
As I obsess over my every misstep
I grow so tired, so tired of this
The sleepless nights, the crying fits
The racing heart, the panic attack
The imaginary whip at my back
The what ifs, the second guess
The constant thought that my life is a mess
Sometimes I feel so alone
Tell me, do you feel so alone?
Maybe if you know I’m alone
Maybe you’ll feel less alone
I feel buried alive
The soil falls over me, 4 5 6 feet high
And the man who digs my grave shares my blue eyes
I’m crippled inside
Paralyzed by the fear the whole world might realize
Has there ever been a fool such as I?

ZACHARY FRIEDERICH
is an artist from New York. He dabbles in songwriting, photography, and poetry so far.


Copyright © 2023 Empyrean Literary Magazine, L.L.C.
  • Featured
  • Poetry
  • Fiction
  • Contests
    • Poetry Contest
    • Fiction Contest
    • Non-Fiction Contest
  • Support us
  • Advertise with us
  • General Submissions
  • Moon Submissions
  • Zodiac Submissions
  • Issues