Mustafa Santiago Ali
Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali is the Executive Vice President of Conservation & Justice for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), former Interim Chief of Programs at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), and Instructor at American University. He is the Founder and CEO of Revitalization Strategies. He also serves as a commissioner for The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS). He is an award-winning writer and poet focused on social justice. Dr. Ali is frequently seen on television, including appearances on MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, VICE, FUSE, BET, National Geographic, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and Democracy NOW! Mustafa is also a regular guest on Roland Martin Unfiltered, Black News Channel, Tavis Smiley Show, The Dean Obeidallah Show, and many others…
Editor's Note: This poem is the 87th in our Democracy and Hope Series. This series will highlight hopeful aspects about our Democracy using various genres including poems, interviews, short stories, and articles about political events
the sky bleeds ash & memory, a sunset too heavy to hold— hellish winds howl psalms of ruin, ghosts of dry rivers choking on their own echoes, our brittle prayers breaking like twigs beneath boots of retreat.
the flames don’t care for names, don’t ask who paid the rent this month, don’t stop to mourn the photographs left behind. they rage, they feast, & the air turns to smoke-filled sermons whispered in a language of endings.
this is the song of climate’s revenge: a choir of heatwaves, a drumbeat of drought, each note sharper than the last. the vulnerable huddle in parking lots & shelters, eyes wide, hearts cracking like scorched earth— what is safety when the world is on fire?
but still, they come. neighbors with buckets of water & arms full of hope, strangers stitching lifelines in the charred fabric of the city. we hold hands across the ash, building bridges with calloused palms, fighting fire with the only thing left: us.
Los Angeles burns, but the spirit resists— a phoenix learning to rise from the embers of its own collapse. & when the smoke clears, we will be there, standing in the soot, breathing in what remains of tomorrow.
©️MustafaSantiagoAli #Poetry
#PalisadesFire #LosAngeles #ProudBlue #SoCal #ClimateEmergency #Resister