Athan Mirmikids, 51

We are surrounded by loved ones, friends and familiar landmarks,

and yet…

And yet, we are far at sea,

adrift without a compass.

Despite being encircled by the familiar,

to the point of suffocation,

there is no clear path.

No trail of stones reflecting the moonlight to lead us back.

We are adrift yet observed,

lost in full sight,

like some warped sideshow alley,

a ghost ship.

We fall quiet making our way through the day to the afternoon,

never forgetting,

but moving as softly as we can.

Trying to feel our way to the edges of our old selves and life,

as if blindfolded and fumbling for whatever we can find to anchor us.

And then the alarm tolls,

it’s time to take that bitter pill.

And the lessons are there, the old adages…

I am acutely aware now, of the innate relationship between fear and bravery.

They are so closely intertwined that their defining features are hard to distinguish,

you can’t have one without the other.

Athan Mirmikidis’s diagnosis has been generously donated by his wife, Imogen Mirmikidis.