Is there any better moment in a writer’s day when the metaphor elevates the entire piece, the contradictory concepts shake hands and agree to become more than their parts, when the perfect vehicle arrives to carry your words to the reader? Bring on the tension, conflict, paradox!

After four years of avoiding the plague like the plague, I contracted COVID...right after the start of the new year, right when it's time to get one's ducks in a row, fill in the planner(s,) and finesse everything into tip-top shape. People react differently to the virus, and in my self-imposed physical isolation, I endured an inordinate emotional isolation as well--alleviated only by binge-watching the entire 5 seasons of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in 10 days.