an october sunset

the shadows shifted
on concrete porch facing the sea
where the sun makes it journey into the night.
the usual afternoon breeze
turns the vane now and then,
while the sounds of traffic build up
on the boulevard below
signal the flood of humanity
in a hurry to go somewhere
to their families or to wherever.
most of them as they scurry
would not have time to watch the sunset.
like most of our lives
the only trace of the passing days
are the wrinkles on their faces.

the seasons too shifted the shadows
along the rows of ageing bottles of wines
lazily lying unmoved since they were
consigned in their racks a long time ago,
they have gone from sour to dregs.
when their corks finally crumbled
their bottles revealed
but the stains of the liquids long gone.
there is no need for requiems
for unsipped wines and untouched bottles.
they are lovely still
even when their spirits are gone.

there was a need to roll down the curtain
to fend off the afternoon sun when it peers in
prying as it does with uncomfortable warmth
just before it dips into the horizon
tracing the silhouette of corregidor island
with blazing vermillion glow.
on an afternoon like this, when the sea is calm
and I am on the sixteenth floor and the sunburst
through october clouds languorously drifting
over manila bay the hint of eternity
lingers on to another day.