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Poetry: Wild (Tumawog Falls)

Name: Codi
Price range: $

Panay Island

Iss Bautista

Iss Bautista, an Aklan-born poet, nature writer, and documentarian of the natural world's wonders.

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Tumawog Waterfalls — Tumawog Falls is one of the many hidden gems of Panipiason, a remote town on Panay Island. The trek to the falls is challenging but immensely rewarding. Situated within a vital watershed, the area is a playground for waterfall enthusiasts. The area also rewards you with a rich cultural experience. It is home to the Akeanon Bukidnon indigenous community whose stewardship is crucial to the region’s ecological harmony.

The wilderness is an open invitation

to be a child once more. It calls to you

to grab a root running along the cliff face

Like a mother’s hardened fingers

You will slip and feel abandoned by her

But look around, you’ll see—

The wild calls to you and extends another arm

A fracture in a rock, a stubborn reed

vines splayed among the overgrowth

At times, it puts you in your place, as it should

The wild is strict and harsh and wise

The deadwood kingdom and the white waters

are deaf to your falls and self-loathing

You will emerge from the thicket—

small and innocent still.

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