This is the author of the book, Handcuffed, Charles Carpenter. I’m currently incarcerated in Chino State Prison. I’ve been incarcerated for 23 years. My CDC number is Victor 08580. The title of this poem is “They Expect Us.”
Let me know if I need to be corrected, but it’s time for us to do the unexpected.
We live in a racist society where they expect us to fail.
They expect us to continue to be a slave.
They expect us to misbehave.
They expect us to disobey our mother.
They expect us to go against our brother.
They expect for us to stifle our development.
They expect for us to view ourselves as irrelevant.
They expect us not to gain knowledge of self.
They expect us never to acquire wealth.
They expect for us not to be able to lead.
They expect for us not to know how to read.
They expect for us to smoke weed.
They expect for us to have kids we can’t see.
They expect us to display our wealth around our neck.
They expect for us to receive a government check.
They expect us to wear designer tennis shoes.
They expect us to wear county blues.
They expect us to have more than one baby mama.
They expect us to always be starting drama.
They expect us to be quick to be offended.
They expect us never to be independent.
They expect us to be prone to commit a crime.
They expect to give us a gang of time.
They expect us to wear our feelings on our sleeves.
They expect for us not to achieve.
Like George Floyd, they expect to put us in a choke hold so we can’t breathe.
This is Charles Carpenter signing off.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.
