Boracay: Winter Sun — A Poem
Warm winter sun on Boracay,
Floating clouds, coconut trees, sky so blue.
Riding waves, splashing foam,
Lying back, watching crimson sails drunk with wind.
This is a short four-line poem about Boracay, written after a winter trip. It compresses one afternoon on White Beach — the warm off-season sun, coconut palms against a clear sky, the tug of the waves, and a crimson paraw sail leaning drunk with wind at sunset — into four plain lines, no filler. If you searched for a poem about Boracay, that scene above is the whole of it; the notes below just say where the island is and what the red sails are.
Where is the Boracay in this poem?
Boracay is a small island in Aklan province, in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, roughly 315 km south of Manila. Its west coast is White Beach, about four kilometres of fine white coral sand — the stretch this poem sits on. "Winter sun" is the point: December to February is Boracay's dry, breezy season, warm for a visitor from Taiwan but gentle rather than scorching, which is why the light in the poem feels soft instead of harsh.
What are the "crimson sails" in the last line?
The red sail is a paraw — a traditional Philippine double-outrigger sailboat with two bamboo stabilisers and tall triangular sails, often dyed deep red or orange. Late-afternoon paraw sailing along White Beach, with the sails glowing against the sunset, is one of Boracay's signature sights. In the poem it becomes the single moving image the whole scene settles on: the sail "drunk with wind," carrying the day out to sea.
About this poem
It belongs to Morgan's travel-verse series — short, rhymed sketches that turn one place and one moment into four, eight, or sixteen lines. The aim is not a travel guide but a faithful record of what a place felt like on a particular day. For more of the same, see the Scenery into Poetry collection, which gathers travel poems from Taiwan and beyond.
Frequently asked
What is this Boracay poem about?
A four-line poem capturing one winter afternoon on White Beach — warm off-season sun, coconut palms, riding the waves, and a crimson paraw sail leaning with the wind at sunset.
Where is Boracay?
A small island in Aklan province, Western Visayas, the Philippines, about 315 km south of Manila. Its west coast is White Beach, roughly four kilometres of white coral sand.
What is a paraw, the red sailboat in the poem?
A traditional Philippine double-outrigger sailboat with tall triangular sails, often dyed red or orange. Sunset paraw sailing along White Beach is one of Boracay's signature sights.