Elizabeth T. Gray, Jr. (poetry, ’09): Elizabeth’s seven poem sequence “Bamiyan” appeared in summer 2012 issue of the New Haven Review.  The poems were influenced by the 2001 destruction of the Bamiyan great Buddha statues by Taliban forces.  Elizabeth lived in the region during the winter of 1972.

AL MUHAYMIN [“The Guardian”]

December 1972

Before sleep, wrapped against the cold,
reliving the way in:

++++++++++++++++ that turn,
below the Shebar Pass, where the road
grew thin, uneven, where the wild dog
staggered at us, blind,
rabid, ravenous.
How Qadir, the driver’s friend,
opened the door and shot him.