Rehabilitation

It's not so bad here,
not really. The food is okay,
it's warm. Sometimes it even
tastes like food. Hearing the tray
slide through the slot,
and the slight rattle of plastic
wear is a nice thing to break up
the day. I'm losing weight,
thought I'd tell you that.
They've given me new pants,
the ones with white stripes
down the side, because my
other ones would slide down
when out exercising in the yard.
It's not something you want
to happen. Trust me on that.
But I'll be out soon and perhaps
we could rekindle our romance,
begin anew the love that I thought
was beginning to blossom before
I punched you and set your house
on fire, you know how jealous
I can get when I read your e-mails
or see that you've been on the
phone with men I don't know,
but I'm sorry about that. I hope
that your insurance was enough
to rebuild and get new furniture.
I've really changed this time.
I'm in several twelve step programs
and I'm reading all the books by
Eckart Tolle. I've been able to
completely forget the past and the
person that I used to be and focus
on the now. Those books have
been a blessing here in prison.
They get passed around like hot
cakes. I am free of who I used to
be, and if others would ignore
all the tattoos of satan and the nazi
swaztikas on both arms and on my
back, they could see and believe
that I've changed too. I'm up
for parole in a few weeks and if
all goes well and they see how
far I've come, that I'm a new man,
well, I'll be free. I hope to see you
standing at the gate when I come
walking out, and that you will
welcome me back into your life.
I can't stop thinking about you.
Oh, and by the way, I'm sorry
about what I did to your cat.