Letters written from her prison cell to a member of the Italian parliament who has visited her in jail and has written a book about her suggest the Seattle woman is battling a bad case of the blues after more than three years in prison, but is trying to keep up her hopes.

In a poem included in a letter to Italian MP Rocco Girlanda, Knox writes that her life "has a rainbow running through it" and talks about a "winding road home through the wind and rain."

"I'm singing through the blues and the violet/ Until the day when I'll be home again," she writes.

The view of Knox came as she returned to court today in a first step of the appeal of her conviction for murdering her Englishroommate Meredith Kercher on Nov. 1, 2007, and overturning a 26 year prison sentence.

Prosecutors also appealed her sentencing today, asking that it be increased to life in prison.

After a brief court appearance, the appeal trial was delayed until Dec. 11.

Knox's family said it was particularly difficult since it was the day before Thanksgiving.

Mellas acknowledged that her daughter was struggling with the appeal. "I know that she's obviously nervous. I mean she's facing an appeal, she's been wrongly convicted. So all of this is really hard for her," she said.

In letters to Girlanda, Knox thanks him for "the means to come alive intellectually." She tells Girlanda that he has "given me the gift of your hopes" and "shown me friendship, respect and understanding when I needed it most."

Knox ends