POEM #6: Going to Mount Babag

Napo is where I start for the true

      path to Mount Babag.

Some say it should be from Busay.

I doubt at the latter and I shrink

      at the thought.

I don't like walking on paved roads.

Anyone who walks at a trail

      finds meaning and

      good exercise.

Listen to the watery laughter

      of Sapangdaku river.

Birds flutter by, here and there;

Smile as a ripe mango sways by

      as you reach for the sky.

An old spring refreshes you

      in Lower Kahugan.

Walk another level and bathe

      at the hidden falls

      of Busay Lut-od.

Green coconuts tastes sweet

      lying idle on a bamboo bench

      beneath a Java plum tree.

Freedom pervades in the air.

Take your pick to Babag Ridge:

      the difficult East Ridge Pass?

      or the easy Babag Ridge Road?

Once you are on the ridgeline

      gawk at the sprawling city

      and the scattered islands.

Meanwhile, pitch your tent and

      spend a night at Manwel's Peak.