The lion walks beside me
not as an ornament,
But as a sentinel.
He does not roar
for trivial applause.
He does not perform power
for rooms too small
to recognize sovereignty.
He stands beside me
with austere grace,
formidable, lucid,
and beautifully unbothered.
This is protection:
discernment at the gate,
fortitude in the spine,
a holy refusal
to let careless hands
touch what took years
to become sacred.
This is leadership:
not noise,
not extravaganza,
not the tedious hunger
to be admired,
But the resolute art
of keeping sanctuary intact.
I have learned
that a crown
is often invisible.
Sometimes it is a boundary.
Sometimes it is silence.
Sometimes it is the audacious calm
of a woman
Who has stopped explaining
Why her peace
requires protection.
The lion knows.
He has watched me
remain tenacious
through arduous seasons,
watched me become poised
without becoming passive,
tender
without becoming available
to every wandering appetite.
So I lead now
with guarded mercy,
with venerable wisdom,
with a softness
that has learned
How to lock the door
and still remain
ready for love.
And when the world asks
What changed,
I smile,
just enough.
The lion answers first:
She remembered
that protection
is a form of love,
and leadership
is the discipline
of keeping
the sacred
safe enough
to be loved well–
Copyright © 2026 Sherley Delia | All rights reserved.
Healing Majestically 