“When I Stepped Onto the Deck After Sunset,” by Ellen McCulloch-Lovell (Poetry ’12)

2012 poetry alum Ellen McCulloch-Lovell was recently featured in Grey Sparrow Journal. Read an excerpt of McCulloch-Lovell’s poem below:

When I Stepped Onto the Deck After Sunset

When I stepped onto the deck after sunset
a sliced moon floated low in a circle of its own light―
no stars at that level, only one sure beacon in the southwest―
I thought it must be Venus. Against shaded blue, maples pressed designs,
so fast had new leaves unfurled this warmest May day.

From a vernal pool I heard peepers
chirring, thrilled to be back in their bodies.
White porch chairs glowed ghostly, as if
last summer’s guests just left, food smoke dispersed.

Read the rest of this poem here: https://grey-sparrow-press.com/38-when-i-stepped-onto-the-deck-after-sunset-ellen-mcculloch-lovell/