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
The idea of a world war should not be relegated to science fiction. Western escalations in Ukraine could lead to conflict with a nuclear power.
Read against the terrible incineration of Rafah today, this poem of resistance and refusal, by Palestinian poet Samih al-Qasim, is as powerful now as it was fifty years ago.
I spoke to William Sakawa, a producer and reporter with the Nairobi-based media outlet African Stream, about Kenyan President William Ruto’s agreement to invade Haiti for the US.
"Hearing! Hearing! Hearing!" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
This week’s featured authors are Jeanelle K. Hope and Bill V. Mullen. Their book is The Black Antifascist Tradition: Fighting Back From Anti-Lynching to Abolition.
