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 D

Dexter

Heraldic Terms
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

In heraldry, "dexter" refers to the right side of the shield from the bearer’s perspective—considered the position of honor—and not merely "skillful."

Detailed Definition
Having or showing mental or physical dexterity; clever or adept, often used to describe someone with precise, expert control—especially in manual tasks.
Example
Example in poetry:
Her dexter fingers danced across the lute strings, weaving melodies from moonlight; The surgeon’s dexter hands moved with quiet precision, mending what was broken; With dexter grace, the calligrapher traced each stroke as if ink were breath; Though young, the apprentice showed dexter skill in shaping clay on the wheel; The falconer’s dexter touch calmed the wild-eyed bird with ease; In the forge, his dexter arms shaped iron into song.
Additional Notes
While "dexter" is recognized in English as an adjective meaning skillful—especially with the hands—it is far more common in its Latin root form, where "dexter" literally means "right" (as in right-handed), historically associated with favor, strength, and virtue (the right hand being the "good" hand in many cultures). In poetic usage, "dexter" is rare in modern English verse; poets more often use synonyms like "deft," "adroit," or "nimble." However, when "dexter" does appear, it often carries a classical or archaic tone, evoking precision, elegance, or craftsmanship. Students should note that overusing obscure Latinate adjectives like "dexter" can hinder clarity; it’s best employed when its etymological resonance (linking skill with the "right" hand) enriches thematic layers—such as in poems exploring duality, tradition, or manual artistry. Related terms include "dexterity" (noun form) and its antonym "sinister" (Latin for "left," historically linked to misfortune).
Also Known As
deft adroit skillful dextrous nimble handy
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