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 B

bow

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

The forward end of a ship, where the hull curves inward toward the stem.

Detailed Definition
In poetry, the bow represents direction, aspiration, and the cutting edge of human endeavor against the unknown. It is the point that first meets the wave, making it a natural symbol for courage, forward motion, and the initial encounter with challenge. Poets from Homer to Hart Crane have used the bow to evoke the tension between destination and the vastness of the sea, often contrasting its sharpness with the rounded stern to suggest beginnings against endings, or the active thrust of life versus the passive drift of memory. Its imagery also carries religious and mythological weight, as in the "prow" of the ship of state or the soul’s vessel.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Hurrah! the Bow, the British bow, the gallant, fine old English bow!” (from a patriotic poem).; “Who warms the lilies on the bow, clasped upon a maiden’s breast” (Waterlilies on the Bow).; The bow in poetry represents the cutting edge of human endeavor against the unknown.; Poets use the bow to symbolize aspiration, the forward-facing courage that meets the wave first.; The bow’s sharp curve against the horizon embodies the tension between destination and the vast sea.; In elegy, the bow is the point of first impact, where grief meets the oncoming tide.
Additional Notes
The bow is the ship's cutting edge, the forwardmost point that first encounters the unknown, making it a natural symbol for aspiration, courage, and the initiation of journey. In poetic tradition, the bow often represents the present moment of action, the thrust into the future, and the sharp distinction between what has been left behind and what lies ahead. Its elegant curve, where the hull narrows to a stem, offers visual imagery of grace under pressure and the streamlining of purpose. Poets can contrast the bow with the stern to explore the tension between looking forward and looking back. The bow's interaction with the water—slicing, parting, or rising to meet waves—provides rich metaphors for how we meet challenges, whether with aggression, grace, or resilience. It is the point of first impact, making it ideal for poems about beginnings and confrontation.
Other Meanings of “bow”
Also Known As
Prow stem forepart cutwater obeisance Rainbow
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