Looking for the Meaning

When the Neowise comet came to town, not to appear for another 6,000+ years, I drove to the harbor looking for it. It might have helped if I’d known which direction NE was, but I figured it was a big sky and I’d surely find it. I imagined that if I could just spot the comet, it would be a sign that everything would be okay, that things would work out in some vague way for our country, that my far-flung family would be safe, that I would find meaning in this quarantine, that cruelty would not win, that I’d be brave, that happy endings are real. Instead, there was just a neon pink afterglow thrown up by the setting sun, some dogs chasing each other and their own tails, and a couple sitting on the tailgate of a truck holding hands. It’s so typical of me that I go chasing after miracles and epiphanies and forget that the signs and wonders the ordinary world offers are quite enough.

Nikki Hardin is a writer of stories, musings, and memories. Her poetry has been published in Riverteeth Journal. She was the founder and publisher of skirt!, a monthly women’s magazine in Charleston, South Carolina. You can reach her at nikki@thedailynikki.com.