At Four in the Morning

514 CHRISTIANITY AND LITERATURE At Four in the Morning maybe you hear a woman's screams outside your window. Maybe you rise, dress, slip out the door, and stand in the alley under the moon. Maybe a television wails, and maybe you think that's all it was. Maybe you hear the screams again, farther away, this time like a cat in heat. Maybe you turn, hands in your pockets, and trip and fall on a hidden step. Maybe your hands go skidding across the rough cement, and maybe you keep a dark silence, awakened by your sudden shame. Maybe you come back inside to scrub your wounds, and maybe now you sit down in the living room and your dog curls against your feet. Maybe you sit there waiting for the sun to rise, waiting for the news to land on your front porch. PAUL J. WILLIS ...