Poems by Athena Milios

“The Lonely Cloud”
             By Athena Milios

You are a timeless wanderer, traveling in space
All the things that keep you grounded
To this planet, this life
Are gone

The galloping horses, the freedom, the innocence,
Belong to another world, one which you have left,
While you lay here, stranded
Upon your lonely cloud

You are nothing without the companionship of animals
Creatures of innocence
Oblivious to death and the concept of infinity
The curses of the universe

They lead to a bottomless pit of misery
From which there is no return
Once the truth of life has been discovered
There is no purpose left, no meaning

When the bigger picture is revealed,
The world is understood for what it really is
And you will forever remain
Upon your lonely cloud


“The Curse”
             By Athena Milios

I have a curse
That some would call awareness
I can see into the future
Of the earth and other people

I sense around me
Those who are dying
Animals suffer in the hands of humans
Too weak to fight back

I can feel the earth,
Which humans pollute
Cutting down trees,
Which we need to breathe

I have a vision
Of the earth dying
Because humans are too ignorant
Wrapped up in their own lives

People who think “it’s fine,
there’s nothing wrong with my life”
Forget that we are all connected,
Connected to the earth

I wish I could make others see
But they are blind
And I am just too tiny, too weak
To ever make a change

Tired and tongue tied
The dread is paralyzing
I cannot communicate and convey
the urgency trapped within me

The visions are choking me
Festering inside of me
Haunting my every waking moment
I can no longer function

I need to scream
Desperate for an outlet
Drained of life
Dying on the inside

My mind is being consumed
I feel myself drowning,
Sinking under the weight
Of my awareness

- Athena Milios is a Greek-Canadian psychiatric researcher and writer based in Nova Scotia, Canada. She holds an undergraduate Degree in Medical Science and a Master’s in Psychiatry Research, both from Dalhousie University. She is passionate about psychology and mental health. Athena has been living with mental illness since the age of fifteen. She strongly advocates for mental health in her community. She is the author of several psychiatric publications as well as some creative writing pieces, including poetry and short stories.

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