Poem

I just looked at this poem I wrote in 2002/03. I think it still holds up, although I may do some editing at a later date. Thought I'd share.

Letter from Inside
I.
I look forward to his letters
written in unsure cursive—
he cannot sleep at night
the guards keep
the radio on and
there is never complete darkness—
a fluorescent buzz of light
constant as breath—
Saturday a man arrived
in his block singing all night
… All You Need is Love …
he laughed as he told me
over the gingivitis stench
of the visiting room phone—
Our reflections blur
against the Plexiglas
muting clenched jaws
and the hiss
of orange jumpsuits
II.
It couldn’t have been
any other way—
a voice in my head
tells me
What did you expect?
Someone had to end up here—
The path behind us
is scattered—
memories hang
threadbare
drowning us
with uncertainty—
We are ugly
stupid and deserve
everything we get—
the Lutheran neighbor says
pushing us out
of her home—
teachers look
blankly at us
and suck
their perfect teeth—
Isn’t it sad?
They’ll never go anywhere
III.
Sometimes I try
to talk to him
about the violence—
The stepfathers
The belts
The unexplained rages—
I am reminded
of police officers who
cut him from the rafters
telling him
he should have used
a stronger rope
IV.
I study the graffiti scratched
into the cheap brown paint
dressing the visiting stalls—
Houston ’99, Free Shep Dog—
he points a nervously
chewed finger to
Fuck tha Police
he says, exactly—
His eyes wander away
as we look for words
that scratch less—
words that force
the shadows out
from behind
our sharp eyes