(first soul)
You spoke these words
into my ear: I cannot talk
anymore. Teaching me,
even as you were dying,
about dried flowers.
* Ilocanos have a four-soul system: kararua (like the soul that only leaves the body after death); karkarma (the soul that can temporarily leave the physical body if it is stolen or if the person is frightened — this soul can be called back to the body); aniwaas (the soul that can leave the body when one is asleep, and visit places familiar to it); and araria (the soul that is liberated after death, though its presence can continue to manifest—to haunt living relatives and loved ones).