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

anchorage

Nautical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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

A place suitable for anchoring a ship, offering shelter and holding ground.

Detailed Definition
Anchorage is the promise of rest and security after perilous travel. In verse, it represents safety, homecoming, and the brief stillness between voyages. It is more than a physical harbor; it is a psychological refuge, a moment of respite where the soul can drop its defenses. Poets contrast the rolling unpredictability of the open sea with the calm of anchorage, using it to explore themes of exile and return, or the uneasy peace of temporary shelter. Its shallow depths and firm bottom also suggest a reliable foundation, making it a favored image for love, faith, or any steadfast commitment.
Example
Example in poetry:
Anchorage for Audre Lorde, this city is made of stone, of blood, and fish (Joy Harjo).; “For ridin’ in the anchorage the ships of all the world have got one anchor down ’n’ all sails furled” (John Masefield).; By the old Pagoda Anchorage they lay full fifteen strong, their spars like a forest (poem by Cicely Fox Smith).; The poet uses anchorage as a metaphor for spiritual refuge after a long emotional voyage.; In elegy, anchorage becomes the final resting place where weary souls drop their burdens.; A ship at anchorage, swingin’ to the tide, embodies the peace that follows struggle.
Additional Notes
Anchorage appears most powerfully in poetry as a symbol of rest, safety, and the completion of a journey, often contrasted with the perpetual motion of the open sea. Poets frequently use it to represent emotional or spiritual refuge, a place where the weary soul can finally "drop anchor." The term carries a sense of temporary relief rather than permanent settlement, as an anchorage is a stopping point, not a final destination. This makes it particularly effective for poems about pilgrimage, exile, and the brief respite between struggles. When using it in verse, consider the quality of holding ground—how the anchor grips the seabed—as a metaphor for memory, faith, or love that secures us against drifting. The concept also invites exploration of the tension between the desire for stability and the restless call of the sea.
Also Known As
Roadstead riding ground mooring ground anchor ground
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