(third soul)
In a dream, I scour
the countryside, looking
for groves of cottonfruit—
their leatherlike exterior
cradling a tart but honeyed
core, a heart that’s mastered
how to be both guide and
its nemesis. If I don’t return, put
a pebble under your tongue, there
at the fork of the road facing east
* 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).