I had no idea what the word “diptych” meant. It was the next prompt on my writing list and I stared at it, trying to guess how to say it, let alone use it in a sentence. My starting guess was that it was some kind of dance move or part of a car engine.

Before you read on (or Google), what do you think the word means?

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Two images placed together to create the whole work.

During our final meeting as a complete team, our program director spoke about the history of the Doctor of Education program. The initial interest in the program, and fast enrollment growth, had early faculty members riding the wave and trying to survive. Another image shared was an airport runway: “We were building the airplane while rolling down the strip.”  He clicked through the slides to highlight the program changes, number of graduates, and other good work that had been done by a team that would not be together any more. The main image on my computer screen was of the beginning, and it was there because it was the end.

Humans need meaning in life. We need meaningful relationships. We need work that has meaning. We need our leaders to mean what they say. We need there to be meaning in all of this sheltering-in-place, social distancing, and mask wearing.

And me, myself, and I need there to be meaning in the #NextNextChapter. Images come together in a diptych to create something whole. The meaning of this ending will be more clear in the start of something new.

“We are the spark, that will light the fire that’ll burn the First Order down” (Poe Dameron, Star Wars: The Last Jedi). – #52sparks is my year-long writing series for 2020, based on an art prompt challenge. The spark that lights a fire to toast a marshmallow or to ravage a forest begins in the space of an inch. This series is to explore what hundreds of inches and words can do.