Empyrean
  • Featured
  • General Submissions
  • Poetry
  • Fiction
  • NonFiction
  • Contests
    • Poetry Contest
    • Fiction Contest
    • Non-Fiction Contest
  • Moon Submissions
  • Zodiac Submissions
  • Support us
  • Advertise with us
  • Issues
  • Featured
  • General Submissions
  • Poetry
  • Fiction
  • NonFiction
  • Contests
    • Poetry Contest
    • Fiction Contest
    • Non-Fiction Contest
  • Moon Submissions
  • Zodiac Submissions
  • Support us
  • Advertise with us
  • Issues
Working: Vol. 5, No. 3 - Issue 19 Autumn 2026

Paid in Full​

Issue 18
I do what I don’t like.
I go where I’m not wanted.
I write about the pain I feel
and I pay for that.
 
I can’t watch the news.
I don’t know how to meet a person.
I stopped thinking about myself
and I pay for that.
 
I no longer look up.
I have given up on finding my place.
I forget how it all started
and I pay for that.
 
I walk in wide circles.
I can’t recall the names of trees.
I won’t see what I should see
and I pay for that.
 
I live in a secret city
and look for any face I know.
I won’t give in
until I have paid in full.

JOSEPH TETRO lived in Alaska for several years, receiving his MFA from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. His work has appeared recently in Kelp Journal, Raven Review, Phil Lit, and elsewhere. He co-manages Winter Light Books, which works with Ukrainian artists to publish children's books based on folktales from Ukraine.
​

Copyright © 2025 Empyrean Literary Magazine, L.L.C.
  • Featured
  • General Submissions
  • Poetry
  • Fiction
  • NonFiction
  • Contests
    • Poetry Contest
    • Fiction Contest
    • Non-Fiction Contest
  • Moon Submissions
  • Zodiac Submissions
  • Support us
  • Advertise with us
  • Issues