Poems and Thoughts    by Frank Maurer

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The Rewilding of Humanity. A dear friend, after listening to a book lecture by Jessica Carew Kraft, Sent me a copy of Kraft's book--'Why We Need to be Wild'. The friend raved about the talk and thought of me immediately. Kraft spoke of how humans have become so disconnected from nature, And how to rewild ourselves back to health. I do live on a small farm, harvested food gardens, raised fish, Free raised turkeys and geese, and even worked with the African bee. I have worked with raptors and the art of falconry which went with that. And on and on, so I guess it was not a surprise she sent me the book. Specifically, my thoughts homed down to one day in the Botswana, Kalahari Desert. I was on a university safari in that wonderful desert. One day I broke away from the group to wander and observe on my own. No roads, no overhead planes--only silence accented by inhabitant creature sounds. Late in the afternoon I came across an abandoned Bushman encampment. Circled huts (three or four) with a central fire area. I realized I was in lion territory, so I immediately began to gather fallen firewood., To later be used to burn all night, warding off these magnificent creatures. Darkness fell and sure enough, the roar of lions commenced. The marvellous repetition of roar after roar in a series of crescendoed bursts of sound. The calls alternated back and forth, one to another. I ate, stripped down and lay down on a grassy mat left by the original builder. I fell asleep, dreamed, and suddenly awoke, imagining a lion approaching the hut. The fire had died down and, indeed, I believed a lion to be nearby. More wood on the fire and moments of thought, Before returning to a soft state of slumber. . This experience was temporary, but I was truly partaking in time 10,000 years ago. Frank Maurer 11 September 2023 0900 Hours.