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


  • Iker Suarez
    Anti-ICE, Anti-Imperialism. A Primer on the Role of ICE and How to Fight It
    11 Feb 2026
    To dismantle ICE, we must first understand its purpose in a global system. The struggle against this agency is a struggle against the machinery of imperialism itself.
  • Black Alliance for Peace NYC/NJ Citywide Alliance
    The U.S. War on Cuba is a War Against Us All
    11 Feb 2026
    True solidarity means recognizing an attack on Cuba as an attack on all who resist empire.
  • Sally Nasser
    Organ Theft, Neo-Cannibalism and Israel’s Trade in Palestinian Death
    11 Feb 2026
    Missing organs from Palestinian bodies and a history of organ harvesting without consent make Israel's supposed organ donation record very suspicious. Palestinians are demanding an independent…
  • Navid Farnia , Nina Farnia
    Iran v. US Imperialism: An Interview with Navid Farnia & Nina Farnia
    11 Feb 2026
    A discussion on the protests in Iran, US imperialism, and Iranian resistance.
  • Jody McIntyre
    Morgan McSweeney: the Man Running Britain and His Ties to Israel
    11 Feb 2026
    Morgan McSweeney is an unelected operative steering the British government. His career reveals deep and formative ties to pro-Israel lobbyists and financiers.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us