ballast journal

And we’re LIVE! @ballastpoetryjournal issue 4.1 OUT NOW!

We are reading now for issue 4.2: OUR SUBMISSIONS ARE STILL ALWAYS FREE AND ALWAYS OPEN.

www.ballastjournal.com/issue-41-tab...

Here’s Miharu Yano and “Three Paintings; Redux” to round out ballast 3.4’s contributor features

Read the full poem here:

www.ballastjournal.com/miharu-yano

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#MiharuYano

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Here’s Rebecca Valley and “January in the Japanese Garden” for ballast 3.4’s contributor features

Read the full poem here

www.ballastjournal.com/rebecca-valley

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#RebeccaValley

Here’s Misha Tentser and “Sacred Heart” for ballast 3.4’s contributor features

Read the full poem here

www.ballastjournal.com/misha-tentser

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#MishaTentser

Here’s Hannah Azar Strauss and “Warner’s Lolly” for ballast 3.4’s contributor features

Read the full poem here

www.ballastjournal.com/hannah-azar-...

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#HannahAzarStrauss

Here’s Kelly R. Samuels and “Re: Talking of Wallpaper” for ballast 3.4’s contributor features w/ @kellyrsamuels.bsky.social

Read the full poem here

www.ballastjournal.com/kelly-r-samu...

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#KellyRSamuels

Here’s · R L · powell and “Polaroids I didn’t take only to leave in Basque” for ballast 3.4’s contributor features

Read the full poem here

www.ballastjournal.com/rl-powell

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#RLPowell

an annas hummingbird with a pink gorget and you can see the skyline reflection in their eye

Pretty good hummingbird-eye scene #birds

Here’s Meg Pokrass and “The Stranger Likes Soup” for ballast 3.4’s contributor features @megpokrass.bsky.social

Read the full poem here

www.ballastjournal.com/meg-pokrass

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#MegPokrass

"Homing" - @identitytheory.bsky.social www.identitytheory.com/homing/

"Streetcar Funeral" - @ballastjournal.bsky.social www.ballastjournal.com/elena-zhang

"Three Poems" - @bruisermag.com www.bruisermag.com/zhang_threep...

Here’s Caroline Picker for ballast 3.4’s contributor features

Content Warning: grief, loss of child

Read the full poem here

www.ballastjournal.com/caroline-pic...

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#CarolinePicker

Look for a new collection coming next year from ballast co-editor @jacobschepers.bsky.social 🫰🫰

✨Contributor Features from ballast 3.4✨

Here’s Matthew Murrey with “L” @mytwords.bsky.social

Read the full poem here!

www.ballastjournal.com/matthew-murr...

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#MatthewMurrey

✨Contributor Features from ballast 3.4✨

Here’s Pete Miller with “Ethanol”

Read the full poem here:

www.ballastjournal.com/pete-miller

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#PeteMiller

Digital broadside of a poem by Jory Mickelson in ballast issue 3.4. Black text on light pink background with black curly line on right side. Text of poem reads “So maybe a hotel room's really a pastoral. It's all there right on the surface. So, pastoral with comforter & pillow. Pastoral with telephone on the nightstand. Pastoral with stranger's pubic hair on the gleaming toilet seat.”

✨Contributor Features from ballast 3.4✨

Here’s Jory Mickelson @poetryphone.bsky.social with “[Sometimes a hotel room]”

Read the full poem here!

www.ballastjournal.com/jory-mickels...

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#JoryMickelson

✨Contributor Features from ballast 3.4✨

Here’s Andrew Maxwell with “nunc dimittis”

Read the full poem here!

www.ballastjournal.com/andrew-maxwell

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#AndrewMaxwell

✨Contributor Features from ballast 3.4✨

Here’s Jason Labbe with “Everybody”

Read the full poem here!

www.ballastjournal.com/jason-labbe

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#JasonLabbe

Yellow graphic featuring poet David Koehn with a poem excerpt from “Horse in Field Under Power Lines Quatern.” The poem reads: “I’ve been told everything is in transition today / Storm cloud diminishing, optimisms, your death arrives today / Rutabagas, parsnips, deviled eggs, a gun appeared in the mirror today.” Below the text are illustrations of two deviled eggs. The bottom right corner shows “ballast 3.4” and “ballastjournal.com.”

✨Contributor Features from ballast 3.4✨

Here’s David Koehn with “Horse in Field Under Power Lines Quatern”

Read (or listen to David read) the full poem here!

www.ballastjournal.com/david-koehn

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#DavidKoehn

Text from Ted Jean’s poem “Ecclesiastes” from ballast issue 3.4. Black text in green background with silhouette of a frog in bottom left corner. Poem’s text reads as follows: you become aware of frog song on every hand the pond you know and those you don’t, the ditches the chorus seems to celebrate

✨Contributor Features from ballast 3.4✨

Here’s Ted Jean with “Ecclesiastes”

www.ballastjournal.com/ted-jean

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#TedJean

Excerpt from Jenna Jaco’s poem “That Couple.” Black text on red background with black image of two chairs and a table in bottom left corner.

✨Contributor Features from ballast 3.4✨ @jennajaco.bsky.social

Here’s Jenna Jaco with “That Couple”

www.ballastjournal.com/jenna-jaco

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#JennaJaco

One of our editors zhuzhing up their own site 👀

word on the street is there's a HAD call in 30 minutes

✨Contributor Features from ballast 3.4✨

Here’s Vivian Ia with “[camaraderie with the inevitable]” which is also one of our Pushcart nominees this awards season!

www.ballastjournal.com/vivian-ia

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#VivianIa

✨Contributor Features from ballast 3.4✨

Here’s G Timothy Gordon with “Daliesque”

www.ballastjournal.com/g-timothy-go...

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#GTimothyGordon

✨Contributor Features from ballast 3.4✨

Here’s J. Freeborn with “After the Wake”

www.ballastjournal.com/j-freeborn

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#JFreeborn

Hey #ballast is a nonprofit journal, and if you support what we’re doing and would like to consider financially supporting us with a #givingtuesday donation, we hope you do. Every little bit helps us keep the lights on and the web hosting happy. Our donate link is at ballastjournal.com/donate.

✨Contributor Features from ballast 3.4✨

Here’s Connor Fisher with “The Contaminated Tongue”

www.ballastjournal.com/connor-fishe...

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#ConnorFisher

Contributor Features from ballast 3.4!

Here’s Geoffrey Detrani’s “Profanity’s Weight” @geoffreydetrani.bsky.social

www.ballastjournal.com/geoffrey-det...

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#GeoffreyDetrani

Contributor Features from ballast 3.4!

Here’s Michael Daley, from “Lowering My Standards”

www.ballastjournal.com/michael-daley

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#MichaelDaley

Contributor Features from ballast 3.4!

Here’s Joel Chace, from “[Egress glitch]”

www.ballastjournal.com/joel-chace

#contributorfeature
#poem
#poems
#ballast
#JoelChace