Belfast Landing
for Erin Elizabeth Horlings
When the plane wobbled in its descent
To George Best Belfast City Airport
I thought of the Munich Air Disaster
Then what came to mind was the descant
I forged between us. Never the sort
To cross myself in polyester
Prayer, I crossed myself and thought of what I meant
When I asked you “Will you marry me?” Short
Of runway, I’m working for our daughter
Whom we don’t have yet. These days I rent
A modest basement flat off Dovercourt.
I’m better now, if by better
What is meant is no more descents
No more roller coaster rides to comport
The plane to skid-landing helter-skelter.
U. S. Dhuga was educated at Harrow,
Berkeley, Amherst College, and Columbia University, where he earned his PhD in
Classics in 2006. His widely acclaimed book Choral Identity and the Chorus
of Elders in Greek Tragedy was published through Harvard University’s
Center for Hellenic Studies (Lexington Books, 2011), in the series “Greek
Studies: Interdisciplinary Approaches”, edited by Gregory Nagy of Harvard
University, where Dhuga conducted his postdoctoral research. Founder,
publisher, and managing editor of The Battersea Review, Dhuga earns his
living as a writer in Toronto.
Comments