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



Double Common Meter

Meter
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 stanza form consisting of two Common Metre quatrains (8.6.8.6 D)

Detailed Definition
Double Common Meter (DCM) is an eight-line stanzaic form that doubles the Common Metre quatrain (8.6.8.6) into 8.6.8.6.8.6.8.6, typically with an ABABABAB rhyme scheme. It is commonly used in longer hymns requiring extended doctrinal exposition, narrative development, or emotional progression while maintaining the singable, balanced rhythm of Common Metre. DCM allows for more complex arguments or stories than the standard quatrain without sacrificing metrical consistency, appearing in classics like Charles Wesley’s “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing.” Its extended length supports thematic unfolding while retaining the accessibility and congregational utility of its shorter counterpart.
Example
Example in poetry:
O God, our help in ages past, / Our hope for years to come, / Our shelter from the stormy blast, / And our eternal home. / Under the shadow of Thy throne, / Thy saints have dwelt secure; / Sufficient is Thine arm alone, / And our defense is sure; Jesus shall reign where’er the sun / Does his successive journeys run; / His kingdom stretch from shore to shore, / Till moons shall wax and wane no more. / To Him shall endless prayer be made, / And praises throng to crown His head; / His name like sweet perfume shall rise / With every morning sacrifice
Additional Notes
Double Common Meter (DCM) doubles the Common Metre quatrain into eight lines (8.6.8.6.8.6.8.6), often with rhyme scheme ABABABAB. It’s used in longer hymns requiring narrative or doctrinal development. The extended form allows for more complex arguments while retaining singability. Students should scan hymns like “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” to see how DCM supports thematic unfolding without losing rhythmic consistency.
Also Known As
double ballad meter extended hymn stanza eight-line common measure 88.88 meter
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