Yesterday, you sat on the porch with your scotch and waited for the sun to go down before lighting a cigarette and turning on the radio.

You listened to the music but you didn’t dance or even sway a little until the breezes blew up from the river and took the heat out of the night.

This is the world you grew up in, all sharp shadows and flying skies, waiting out in the wind for something better to come along.

William L. Alton was born November 5, 1969 and started writing in the Eighties while incarcerated in a psychiatric prison. Since then his work has appeared in Main Channel Voices, World Audience, and Breadcrumb Scabs among others. In 2010, he was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He has published one book titled Heroes of Silence. He earned his both BA and MFA in Creative Writing from Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon where he continues to live.

© 2012 William L. Alton