Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Hooked On Hopium
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
13 Jun 2012
🖨️ Print Article

 

by Raymond Nat Turner

There will be no replay of 2008’s greatest hits, but the reflux is debilitating in the extreme – for those who got hooked on Hopium.

 

Hooked On Hopium

by Raymond Nat Turner

*Look at the people –

I know you’re wonderin’ what they’re doin’

Crawlin’ ‘round the marble

Floors lookin’ for his

Feet, and the fire be-

Longing to Boeing,

And the other Big

Boys, Negroz have hit

Rock bottom, powerless

To admit they are

Addicts who will lie,

Steal, leave their babies

And homes in hands of

The Hope Man— even

Act as accessories

To murder— ever

Since that first hit, ’08.

 

*“Look at the people—

I know you’re wonderin’ what they’re doin’

They’re just standin’ there…

Caught up in the rap-

Ture of Hopium’s

Side effects:

Stupor, paralysis,

Heart palpitations,

Ringing ears, dry mouths,

Slurred speech, confused thinking,

Hallucinations,

Delusional, schizophrenic,

Suicidal behavior…

If symptoms persist,

Longer than 4 years,

Negroz must consult

Mental health professionals

Immediately and avoid

Operating heavy equipment,

Like tanks, helicopters,

Aircraft carriers,

Armored personnel

Carriers, or drones…

 

(*Based on Bobby Blue Bland’s Blues classic “I Pity The Fool”)

Raymond Nat Turner @ 2012 All Rights Reserved

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • BAR Book Forum: Interview with Mukul Sharma
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Interview with Mukul Sharma
    07 Jun 2023
    This week’s featured scholar is Mukul Sharma. Sharma is Professor of Environmental Studies at Ashoka University. His article is “Caste, Environment Justice, and Intersectionality of Dalit–Black…
  • Not One Step Backwards! FBI Attacks the Black Liberation Movement…again. Drop the Charges NOW!
    Ekenge Mayele
    Not One Step Backwards! FBI Attacks the Black Liberation Movement…again. Drop the Charges NOW!
    07 Jun 2023
    The Black is Back Coalition issued this call to their 14th annual national conference to be held in St. Louis, Missouri on August 12 and 13.
  • Jamaica: the Rendezvous of Shame
    Isabelle Papillon
    Jamaica: the Rendezvous of Shame
    07 Jun 2023
    Since the summer 2021, after the assassination of Haiti’s de facto president, Jovenel Moïse, the U.S. and its western imperial partners have been trying to send armed foreign military to forcefully…
  • Cuba: "Defeat the Blockade Without Waiting For It to Be Lifted"
    Duane Stilwell
    Cuba: "Defeat the Blockade Without Waiting For It to Be Lifted"
    07 Jun 2023
    Joe Biden has intensified the relentless U.S. attacks on Cuba, with disastrous results for the people of that nation. But the Cuban people are determined to defeat the blockade regardless of U.S.…
  • African Unity and the New Cold War
    Abayomi Azikiwe
    African Unity and the New Cold War
    07 Jun 2023
    These remarks were made by the author at the Pan-Afrikan Society Community Forum (PASCF) Afrikan Liberation Day webinar held on Sat. May 27, 2023. The event was hosted by PASCF organizers in Britain…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us