The last time I remember
leaving an offering
for the dead
was All Soul's Day
in Cebu
after my mother's
death.
Death is so final,
leaving us reeling
with everyday
concerns
like food for dinner
or clothes
to lay out.
We don't really
offer these things
to the dead.
No, we lay out
the ulam, the drinks,
the cigar
and the rice
for our abandoned
selves.
We have nothing else
but these human
habits and
comforts
to go on.
How do we say
that we have not
forgotten
if we have not
laid out
their share
of the evening
meal?
Please be here
tonight,
please let me
hold on
on this night
that it is
allowed.
Alay sa Patay - Tagalog for "offering for the dead"
Ulam - viand
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