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NEW POEM FROM U.S. DHUGA

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.

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