Night Howl

2 a.m.Cold, dark, winter air,

three shots fire off in the canyon.

Coyotes yelp and yodel,

an eerie soundtrack,

a haunting chorus of wails and whines,

their howls piercing the silence,

rising and falling waves of the wild.

Nothing, no one, to quiet them.

Sirens screech down Sunset,

helicopters blast their lights,

cutting through the fog,

searching for the harbinger of trouble,

slicing apart the stillness of the night.

A baby cries next door,

its tiny voice a plea

for comfort,

breast milk —

a needy desire

an innocent moan of life

amid the crazy goings on.

Shots, Howls, Sirens,

Whir, Whoop, Chop, Chop!

The BABY —

holding the world together

in its unyielding tenderness.

There, there.

Hush, hush.

A cry.

A breath.

A mammalian promise

in the City of Angels:

We shall endure.