Bubbles

     “Hope
     Smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
     Whispering ‘it will be happier’ . . .”
                    ― Alfred Lord Tennyson

Did you raise a glass of bubbly to greet the new year? Bubbles are frothy and playful, whether blown through a wand or drunk from a champagne flute. Prisms of bubbles turn sunlight into rainbows.

Metaphorical bubbles are risky, their surface tension too fragile or too tough. Some are insubstantial or illusory, destined to burst like an overpriced investment. Others function like gated communities, holding insiders in blissful ignorance of the world outside.

In this winter of social distancing, bubbles have come into their own. Our respective bubbles let us take off our masks and relax. Yes, the bubble may burst unless we tend it with care. Calling it a pod sounds more substantial, but bubble sounds more fun. May you savor your bubbly, frolic in the rainbows, and harken to the whisper of hope.