Criminal heart

 I'd been incarcerated for the crime of imagining that I was in love, perpetrated by the man who was judge, jury, & jailer.

I did my time, carried out my sentence like a hardened criminal while life went on without me on the outside. The work was thankless, living conditions
deplorable even for an animal, but I did my job and I did it well.

If I knew what was good for me, I'd have kept my mouth shut, but it was easier said than done thanks to that wild streak in me that never enjoyed being kept. You could beat it down like a disobedient dog and still, it had something smart to say.I was brighter than that, but it didn't really matter, I never did follow orders very well.

As the years went by at an excruciating pace, the cells got a little crowded, times two, to be exact. By that time the workload had nearly tripled and I broke my back, body and mind, trying to keep up. I ate stress for breakfast with about a pot of cheap coffee and for dinner, I swallowed enough hate to burn a hole in my gut.

The warden was an unforgiving man with a bite like a pitbull; once he got a hold of you, he never let go. He was known for his surprise inspections and if he didn't like what he saw, he'd trash the place and you along with it. It was best just to keep your head down and do as you were told.

Me and my cell mate decided we didn't much care for the living conditions and spent the better part of a month planning a good old fashioned jail break. It would be risky, but we had to walk while we were still in one piece, so we stowed our things in a crawlspace and hatched out a plan.

I used up my only phone call arranging for a getaway car, but the warden caught on quick. I knew it would be rough on the outside, that it was next to impossible for a penniless ex-con to catch a break, but it was now or never. The boys came to break us out just in the nick of time, so we high-tailed it outta there and never looked back.

I swore off love after twenty plus years served of my life sentence, but somehow it still managed to find me. This time, though, it embraces me kindly, as a lover should. I am eager, and I am justified.