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 55th 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
Heroes in the Face of Wind, Water, and Flame” we rise with the weight of knowing / today could be our last / but still, we step into the mouth of danger / while others watch from windows / hands shaking. / we know the storm by name / it wears faces / of wind / water / fire / we answer with our bodies / with hearts that never learned how to retreat.
the flood comes / biblical and cruel / grabbing at the living like it’s hungry / but we dive in / pulling people from its fists / pulling babies from the wreckage of a hurricane’s breath / we give life where death tries to settle.
we lower ourselves to rooftops / where grandmothers call us like prayers / too tired to climb any higher / we lift them up, because this is what we do / we hold the broken until they remember they can stand.
fire / wild and angry / burns in the distance / mothers cry out / we run into the flames / refusing to leave anyone to the heat’s hunger / until every soul is accounted for / until every name is whispered safe.
we know / while we battle / there are men in bunkers / counting dollars / denying the beast we fight daily / while they slice away at the help we need / but still / we stay. we stay and we fight.
sometimes the beast is wind / sometimes it is rain that won’t quit / sometimes heat that burns the air we breathe / or waves that pull you down to a salty grave. but we are here / with hands outstretched / and we will never give up on you. not today / not ever.
©️MustafaSangiagoAli
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