Poems and Thoughts    by Frank Maurer

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The Elephant and the Tree (1977). I was leaving my belov-ed Africa completing five years of teaching. From Lesotho (Le su tu) I flew for a last stop in Malawi. I had the choice of a hotel and walking the town, Or rent a car in which I would sleep and see some sights! Hard to guess which I chose--------. With the car, I needed food for my travels. Coming upon an outdoor market, I purchased a huge hand of plantains With several bags of tangerines--both easy to peel. Then I was off down the dusty road to where? Gave someone a lift for a while and chatted country politics. (Banda had killed perhaps one person in every Milawan family!--so he said.) Then went on and found a national game park. Signed in and settled into my cabin. Explored out in the bush for a time, with wondrous fascination. (I kept my white flannel shirt on, covered in red African dust.) Ate a bite from my stash of plantains and tangerines, Then wandered out again near dusk for good wildlife viewing. Walked along a lake's shore to my right, probably full of crocs and hippos. Passed further on to discover a huge bull elephant now in sight. I watched him feeding on branches for several minutes. It was becoming darker. Suddenly I heard a trumpet and saw the ears out and the trunk up! Wind shifted. I knew I needed to leave--fast. Crocs now to the left and a long open slope to the right. One lone tree far ahead--my only hope. I ran as I had never run before--my high school records were all shattered. MADE IT, with a huge pachyderm just behind. The tree's root mass, from past flooding, was wide, like a giant bonsai. The elephant rounded to the right, I rounded back to the left. Then the other way for both of us in our opposed motions. Two or more semi rotations and then a pause. I had my foot uplifted on the tree root And it trembled beneath my body in exhaustion and exhilarated fear. Suddenly nothing--no sound--and I wondered where we were. Slowly creeping around to see if the huge animal was there. Not a thing------. Then the sudden crack of a branch and I realized it had silently left to feed. I slowly and carefully slunk out and back to my cabin, Still so full of adrenalin, but quieter, I lay down on my cot and left the world in excited slumber. Frank Maurer 14 January 2023 1800 Hours.