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


  • International Law and "European Civilisation"
    Christopher Gevers
    International Law and "European Civilisation"
    12 Apr 2022
    Despite its promises of universalism, international law has clearly not yet shaken its foundation as a racial order. The author observes the contradictions in South Africa.
  • Imperialism and GMOs in Kenya: A Perspective from Social Movements
    Review of African Political Economy
    Imperialism and GMOs in Kenya: A Perspective from Social Movements
    12 Apr 2022
    Noosim Naimasiah interviews Irene Asuwa and Cidi Otieno about food sovereignty, ecologically appropriate production, distribution and consumption, social-economic justice, and local food systems…
  • Biden Proposes $30 Billion for Policing
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Biden Proposes $30 Billion for Policing
    08 Apr 2022
    President Joe Biden is proposing $30 billion in new funding to states and localities to hire more police. He and other democrats make clear they want to silence the demand for defunding the police.…
  • Black Undocumented Immigrants Face a Multitude of Challenges
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Undocumented Immigrants Face a Multitude of Challenges
    08 Apr 2022
    Aly Wane is a policy consultant with the UndocuBlack Network, which advocates on behalf of the undocumented from the African diaspora. Undocumented Black people are rarely part of discussions about…
  • Property Tax Foreclosures Threaten Black Homeowners in Detroit
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Property Tax Foreclosures Threaten Black Homeowners in Detroit
    08 Apr 2022
    Abayomi Azikiwe is editor of Pan African Newswire and an organizer for the Moratorium Now coalition in Detroit. He joins us to talk about the tax foreclosure crisis in that city. Thousands of Black…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us