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

Asterie

Literary Character
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 faithful wife in Horace's Odes, urged to remain constant while her husband travels, representing marital fidelity and feminine virtue.

Detailed Definition
Asterie appears in Horatian lyric as a woman waiting for her husband Gyges to return from a sea voyage, tempted by a persistent suitor; her name means "starry," suggesting celestial constancy. The character represents wifely devotion tested by absence and temptation, her presence allowing exploration of feminine virtue and the challenges of fidelity. Asterie demonstrates that classical love poetry addresses not only erotic pursuit but also the moral complexities of established relationships and the virtues required to maintain them.
Example
Example in poetry:
Asterie appears in Horace's Odes as a woman whose lover is away, representing fidelity tested by absence; Poets use Asterie to explore themes of constancy and temptation during separation; In lyric poetry, Asterie embodies the faithful woman who resists other suitors; A poet might invoke Asterie when depicting the trials of maintaining love across distance; Asterie represents feminine virtue under pressure from external attractions; The name signals classical themes of loyalty and testing in relationships
Additional Notes
Asterie appears in Horace's Odes as a faithful wife counseled to resist temptation while her husband Gyges travels abroad. The poem addresses the trials of separation and the competing attractions that test marital fidelity. Poets use Asterie when exploring themes of constancy, the challenges of maintaining relationships across distance, and the moral strength required to resist seduction. Unlike many classical female figures defined by infidelity or coquetry, Asterie represents virtuous resistance to temptation. The character demonstrates how lyric poetry addresses domestic and moral questions, examining the pressures on marital bonds and celebrating those who maintain loyalty despite opportunity for transgression.
Also Known As
starry maiden celestial nymph Titaness
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