Will COVID-19 Strengthen our Bonds?
Living with chronic illness in the midst of a pandemic requires a new map.
Illustration: Anne Le Guern. I have a friend who texts me poems every day. My phone chimes while I’m pouring my morning coffee. Today’s poem is by Lawrence Ferlinghetti: “I am signaling you through the flames. / The North Pole is not where it used to be. / Manifest destiny is no longer manifest. / Civilization self-destructs.” Over the last several weeks, I have often wondered if civilization is self-destructing. Nothing is manifest. Nothing is where it used to be.
I have lived through another kind of self-destruction before. In 2016, half-way through my PhD program, I got sick and never recovered. My immune system began to attack itself. For the past
