Last Night We Kissed

Are you the runner
Or the race?

Choose wisely,
like the wind
binding itself
to twilight’s bewilderment.

There is no false humbleness
in this river.

Only movement.
Only memory.
Only the sacred current
asking you to remember
where you began.

Nothing steadies the spirit
like solid ground.

Let it build beneath you.
Let the river flow
like the Niger,
wide with knowing,
ancient with return.

As the drums sweep through
the body’s hidden rooms,
as tambourines tremble
with old emotion,
let the spirits carry you
to the meadows of silence,
where imagination becomes luminous
and the temple inside you
Finally says hello.

Do you remember
the coastline in your bloodline?

How it moved through you
before you had language
for longing?

How it swept its rhythm
across the soul
and reminded you
There was never a need
to hide?

Walk into the temple.

Become enlightened
by the sacredness
of yesterday’s memories.

You hold ancient wisdom
like the Benin bronzes,
history gathered at the throat,
truth resting behind the eyes,
integrity standing watch
at the door of your name.

Walk with pride.
Walk with passion.
Walk with discernment.

Do not fall
for the plausible lies
spilled into the dirt
to keep you entrapped
by fallacies,
rancor,
and despondent records
of what never belonged
to them.

Remember:
Theft has a reputation
to uphold.

But the righteous
have something stronger.

The real.
The root.
The power.

You are closer to the sun
than you have been told.

You hold the sun.

While some run for cover
in the very caves
where they were discovered,
You remain radiant.

You stand your ground.
You breathe out.
You let the elements rise
In your full regality.

You stand in your absolute.

You do not beg.
You do not apologize.
You do not shrink
to appease the lie
or make the illusion feel taller.

And as we kiss good night,
let the old heaviness
leave your mouth.

Let every chain
Remember, it was never stronger
than your becoming.

When morning comes,
You will see
The decay of fallacies crumbles,
dismayed by their own weakness,
drowning in what they convinced themselves
could hold water.

A sinking ship
always believes itself
unsinkable
until the truth arrives.

So take the step.

Breathe the open air.

Release the weight.

Let discernment
become your compass.

Let vitality
return to the body.

Let every antiquated fear
lose its claim
over your name.

Rise beyond the story
They tried to fasten
to your back.

Rise to your supreme.

Rise with the river.
Rise with the drums.
Rise with the coastline
still singing in your blood.

Rise, beloved.

Last night we kissed,
But this morning, 
Do you remember
who you are–

© 2026 Sherley Delia. All rights reserved.