A quiet notice V2Melody closes at midnight on , Spanish time.

Closes

A note from Richard

V2Melody will close at midnight on 20 January 2028

This site has been a retirement project in musical poetry: poems chosen with care and set to music, offered freely for as long as it felt right to keep the garden open.

The work no longer holds the place it once did in my life. I have gone as far with it as I wish to go. Like a sand mandala, it was made to be completed and then released. I am not attached to its permanence, and I do not believe any of it needs to last beyond the time it was given. The poems were already here before I arrived and began to experiment with them. They will still be here when these musical experiments, and indeed myself, have been swept away, like the sand of a mandala. Nothing has been lost.

I want a simpler end to my life, days of simple love and enjoyment with my wonderful wife of 20 years. The work of maintaining a server, the monitoring, and the residual obligations that come with keeping a site alive no longer fit that life.

From 4 November 2026 I will not be adding new poems or musical poems to the site.

The experimental music I am making now is on my Suno profile. Those pieces stay there, and are not added to this site.

Until midnight on 20 January 2028, Spanish time, everything remains available exactly as it is. That is when my VPS server contract comes to an end, and it will not be renewed. After that, the server will be switched off and the site will disappear.

The Mandala Is Finished explains this more fully.

Thank you to anyone who found a poem, a track, or a quiet moment here.

The pleasure was in the making.

Richard

Home › Glossary › Letter A

Abstract diction

Concept
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Language using words that denote intangible ideas, emotions, or qualities rather than physical, sensory objects or actions.

Explore this topic in depth (1)

Imagery in Poetry — Imagery is the sensory language that helps a poem be felt as well as understood. This guide explains how to recognise different kinds of imagery and explore what they do without rushing past the words into interpretation.

Detailed Definition
Abstract diction involves the use of non-concrete, conceptual language—such as “justice,” “eternity,” or “despair”—that refers to ideas rather than sensory experiences; while useful for philosophical reflection, excessive abstraction can weaken poetic immediacy, prompting poets to balance it with concrete imagery for emotional impact.
Example
Example in poetry:
Abstract diction: "Hope is the thing with feathers / That perches in the soul" (Emily Dickinson) — uses intangible concepts like "hope" and "soul" rather than concrete images.
Additional Notes
Uses conceptual, non-sensory language ("justice," "truth"). Contrast with concrete diction ("stone," "crimson"). Neither superior—choose based on purpose. Balance both for richness.
Also Known As
Conceptual language Abstract language Theoretical diction Non-concrete vocabulary
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