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

Divalia

Historical Festival
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

Roman festival on December 21 honoring Angerona, goddess of secrecy and winter solstice, associated with protecting Rome's secret name

Detailed Definition
The Divalia was observed on December 21, near the winter solstice, to honor Angerona, a mysterious goddess associated with secrecy, anxiety relief, and Rome's hidden sacred name. Her statue in the Temple of Volupia showed a sealed mouth, symbolizing sacred silence. The Pontifex Maximus performed secret rites. The festival's obscure nature and winter timing added to its mystique. In poetry, Divalia represents occult knowledge, the power of silence, midwinter mysteries, and the hidden foundations of Roman power, appearing in works exploring esoteric themes and the relationship between knowledge and concealment.
Example
Example in poetry:
Divalia appears in Roman poetry as mysterious rite of Angerona or Good Goddess; Poets reference December's secret festival with veiled allusions; "At Divalia, the goddess keeps her counsel in winter's dark" shows usage; The festival provides material for verses on mystery and concealment; Roman lyrics employ Divalian imagery sparingly due to its secrecy; Modern poets use the term for exploring hidden rites and winter silence
Additional Notes
Divalia's December 21 timing at the winter solstice connects Angerona worship to seasonal turning points and the year's darkest period. The festival's association with secrecy and Rome's hidden sacred name emphasizes protective silence and the power of undisclosed knowledge. Understanding Divalia helps illuminate Roman anxieties about religious disclosure and the protective power of mystery. The solstitial timing links the festival to light's return and the preservation of Rome through its darkest period.
Also Known As
Angeronalia
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