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 107th in our Democracy and Hope Series. This series will highlight hopeful aspects about our Democracy using various genres including poems
he walk like dusk & sermon, skin dipped in magnolia & midnight— the saints ain’t ready for a tongue like his: half prayer, half protest, all purpose.
creole by design, his blood remembers boats & the hush songs of sugarcane women who kissed their babies into revolution.
ain’t no collar can hold his gospel, ain’t no robe clean enough for his rootwork. he blesses with a side-eye & a raised fist, lays hands on the system & it trembles like a lie caught in light.
they call him Pope but his cathedral’s a front porch, his incense the steam from a gumbo pot filled with okra, testimony, & truth.
he speak what the world tried to hush, he see the ghost in the boardroom, the bruises behind the bishop’s ring.
justice ain’t just a scripture to him— it’s a rhythm, a recipe, a reckoning slow-cooked in love.
hallelujah to the holy that stirs, to the pope who ain’t afraid to taste the fire & call it divine.
can I get a amen with a little cayenne?
©️MustafaSantiagoAli
#Poetry #PopeLeoXIV #Creole #Pope #Resister #Art