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 C

Citadel

Military
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 citadel is a fortress that protects a city, often situated on elevated ground and serving as a final stronghold.

Detailed Definition
The citadel symbolizes ultimate refuge and enduring strength, the last line of defense within a fortified city, and poets have long used it to represent both literal military stronghold and metaphorical inner sanctuary. Its elevated, commanding position lends the citadel connotations of authority and permanence, while its eventual fall in historical narratives often serves as a powerful symbol of empire's inevitable decline and the transience of even the mightiest human constructions.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poem describing an ancient city might depict its citadel as the last refuge when outer walls fall; Poets use "citadel" to symbolize both physical stronghold and inner sanctuary against despair; A verse could contrast the citadel's commanding height with the vulnerability of those sheltering within; Historical poetry often uses a citadel's eventual fall as a metaphor for empire's inevitable decline; A poem might describe a citadel standing in ruins, evoking themes of memory and lost power; The term can extend metaphorically to describe a citadel of faith or resolve within a person.
Additional Notes
A citadel is a fortress that protects a city, often situated on elevated ground and serving as a final stronghold. Citadels are designed to withstand prolonged siege, containing their own water supply, food stores, and barracks. Historically, citadels allowed a garrison to continue resistance even if the city fell, serving as a refuge and bargaining chip. The Citadel of Aleppo, the Tower of London, and the Kremlin are famous examples. In poetry, the citadel symbolizes refuge, resilience, and the last bastion of hope. It also represents the separation of military power from civilian life, often looming over the city it protects. Related terms include fortress, keep, and redoubt. The citadel's imposing presence in urban landscapes has inspired literary works exploring the tension between security and oppression.
Also Known As
Fortress Stronghold Castle Bastion Keep Tower Dinas
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