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.

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 B

Beat the drum

Idiomatic Phrase
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

To energetically promote, publicize, or advocate for a cause or idea; in literary works, this idiom conveys fervent enthusiasm and the power of rhythmic, persuasive repetition.

Detailed Definition
Beat the drum as an idiomatic phrase in poetry evokes bold advocacy, communal rallying, and energetic calls to action, often deployed in protest, celebratory, or cultural movement verses to inspire unity and momentum. Originating from military and ceremonial drumming that signals advance or gathering, it metaphorically urges awakening awareness, mobilizing for social justice, or celebrating triumphs in identity and resistance poetry. Poets harness its rhythmic vitality to mimic heartbeat pulses or marching cadences, amplifying themes of empowerment against oppression. In works addressing civil rights, environmental activism, or feminist surges, it transforms passive observation into urgent participation, adding auditory immediacy and cultural resonance that heightens emotional engagement while underscoring poetry's role as a drumbeat for change across generations.
Example
Example in poetry:
A patriotic poet might beat the drum for liberty in every ringing stanza; In satire, beat the drum can expose noisy support for a doubtful cause; The phrase suits a poem that urges public action or collective courage; A poet could use it ironically when propaganda drowns out thought.
Additional Notes
To beat the drum is to publicise, rally support, or stir enthusiasm. In poetry it carries strong sonic and martial associations: drums summon soldiers, processions, protest, ceremony, or communal rhythm. It can be positive when linked to advocacy, but negative when linked to propaganda or empty noise. Poets may use the idiom to explore how language itself recruits attention and emotion.
Also Known As
Beat the drum for drum up support
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