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
  • omnibus

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


  • Raïs Neza Boneza
    Through an African Lens: The Israel-Iran Conflict and a Call for Peace
    16 Jul 2025
    Western cameras frame this as Israel vs. Iran—but African analysts see through the script: another case of ‘rules for thee, not for me’ in a system built to punish the Global South.
  • Aja Arnold
    From the Atlanta Race Massacre to Cop City: The AJC Incites Harm
    16 Jul 2025
    The Atlanta Journal-Constitution never stopped printing racist lies—it just upgraded its fonts.
  • Ramzy Baroud
    The corporate giants fueling Israel’s war machine
    16 Jul 2025
    Francesca Albanese’s new UN report doesn’t just document genocide, it indicts the corporate machine profiting from Palestinian blood.
  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio July 11, 2025
    11 Jul 2025
    In this week’s segment, we discuss how the UK government protects Israel through terrorism statute lawfare, and media manipulation. But first, Donald Trump announced an early end to Temporary…
  • save TPS protest
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Haitian Communities Devastated by Efforts to End Temporary Protective Status
    11 Jul 2025
    The Trump administration recently announced the end of Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for 500,000 Haitians currently living in the United States. The end of TPS would end their ability to…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us