tara caribou
poetry & short story author – artist & nature lover
Nikki
Nikki dabs her eyes, mascara long gone. Days gone, really. Every time she thinks she’s dried up, the words and memories flood back in. She drops the Kleenex, reaches for another.
Partly she is heartbroken for the lost years, partly she is embarrassed. Embarrassed that she believed him. Through the lies, she kept believing. Hoping. Wishing. She never has been lucky, in anything really. A life of missed chances and playing it safe. Always one number off. Yet she has clung to the dreams of a love-starved heart, the toss of dice she gambled her everything on. She bet it all.
From the beginning, he says the sweetest things. She never believes him but it strokes her ego. That someone actually feels that way about her. Sees her that way. Six months in, an indiscretion. Another year, two more. And again. He says it is all innocent. She wants to believe. Oh, she wants to.
Now, she sits in the dim light. A pile of crumpled damp rags at her feet and a head full of broken promises and half-truths echoing over and over in her ears. She is as cold as the Alps. As lonely as a coyote in the desert. As lost as a highland lamb. Directionless and isolated, Nikki dabs her eyes, looks out the window, and stares and stares and stares.
tara caribou | ©2020
26 Comments on “Nikki”
tara caribou 
All that raw emotion. I can see her and hear her weep.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Chris. I’m pleased you were able to feel the emotion.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is a beautiful, if sad, character portrait, Tara. I can visualise the scene, yet it also speaks as a commentary on age – looking back on a life and wondering…
Excellent piece.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You nailed it again Chris!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is a great piece! I love this!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey thanks Braeden! Always nice to see you stop by. I miss you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very powerfully and skillfully evoked!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Why thank you, DA. I appreciate that.
LikeLike
You’re very welcome indeed dear friend ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very deep and beautiful to read!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is fantastic imagery.
LikeLike
Thank you so much, Mr. Puppeteer. I’m pleased you could see it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’ve built up her character vividly Tara, making us care for her and wish it was different.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That it can touch you speaks volumes. Thank you for your kindness.
LikeLiked by 1 person
OMG Tara, I think your words:
” She is as cold as the Alps. As lonely as a coyote in the desert. As lost as a highland lamb. Directionless and isolated, Nikki dabs her eyes, looks out the window, and stares and stares and stares.” Are among the best lines of poetry I’ve ever read. Even with my eyes open and not being able to listen to your voice reciting for me on audio I was envisioning in vivid color and in sharp focus the paintings your words painted!! Amazing! Simply amazing!
Bellissimo, Tara, Bellissimo!!
xoxox 😘💕🎁💖✨🌹🌹
LikeLiked by 1 person
Those are my favorite lines of this piece as well. Sometimes these pieces write themselves. Thank you so much for reading and your kind comments.
LikeLiked by 1 person
God, don’t you love it when that happens – the words just flow like a river!! Honestly, those lines are so masterful!! Bellissimo, Tara, Bellissimo!
xoxox 😘💕🎁🌹🌹
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so very much. It truly means so much to me that these words touch you. It’s all I could ever want, to be heard, seen, in some small way… understood.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My definition of a great writer is this – “A great writer is one whose words reach out and touch the heart of their readers!!”
😘💕🌹
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Always one number off”… so poignant! sad, but a beautifully reflective piece of writing..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much Jay. It’s a painful thing, betrayal is.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes it is, but it inspires so much great poetry and writing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s for sure!
LikeLiked by 1 person