Descriptive Essays

AN EARLY MORNING SCENE

The time is only 5:30 am and I am out in the park. I am waiting for
the sun to rise. It being Sunday, I do not expect many people so early,
but I am beginning to see signs of life as the country starts to stir. The
faint streaks of the sun can be seen through the tree branches; soon the
golden rays will smite me in the face. I keep still on the park bench; I
must blend with the stillness of my surroundings. I hear an owl hooting
as it flies away home after a night of hunting and haunting. A cock crows
in the distance; announcing the dawn.

Slowly the birds begin to sing. A twitter here and a twitter there
and then more and more and soon a chorus. Listening to the birds I have
not been aware that the sun had been gradually rising. The sky has
turned gold with the sun's rays, but this is twilight; the rays have not
come directly to earth yet. Soon the rays make for me. I look up as they
come through the huge tamarind tree. The tree against the light looks
magnificent. It towers above all the others and stands there like the
guardian of the park. The stag horn fern and the bird nest fern along the
sides make the tree look weird, as if it has several types of leaves
growing on it. A yellow mynah sits far above the ground singing
beautifully. I look around for its mate for I know that mynahs - yellow or
black - do not travel alone. As if in answer to its mate, another mynah
flies in to sit on the same branch. Then the burst into a lively duet.

I look about me; no humans except me. I decide to stretch out on

the bench and close my eyes, shielding them from the sun with my
hands. I listen intently to the orchestra of the birds as they greet the
dawn. The time is now about 6:30 am and the sun is up. Then I hear the
first sound of human; the raking of leaves. I sit up and watch the foreign
worker lazily sweeping the leaves under the tamarind tree. As I look up,
a tamarind fruit drops and hits the ground. I sit up and see a hunched
figure walking in: Mr Lim, my downstairs neighbour. I wave to him and
he smiles and nods. Then he lays down his walking stick and walks to a
clearing. Slowly he takes up a "Tai Chi' pose.

I get up and stretch myself. I take a last look around. The birds are
beginning to fly away to carry out their various business. A pretty miss is
walking with hurried steps; probably going to church. A lone cyclist
passes by. Then I see a few people with dogs. I look about me and
whisper a word of thanks to Mother Nature for giving me so much
beauty to see in the morning. Then I turn and head for home. Ma will be
waiting with breakfast.