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 F

forbear

Archaic 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

To refrain from, cease, or abstain from doing something; to exercise restraint or patience; as a noun (forebear), an ancestor or progenitor.

Detailed Definition
"Forebear" as a verb combines "fore-" with "bear," meaning to refrain from action, to exercise patience or restraint, or to abstain from something. The term appears in contexts requiring self-control, mercy, or strategic patience—warriors who forebear from striking, judges who forebear from harsh sentences, lovers who forebear from declaring passion. Poets valued it for exploring themes of restraint, virtue, and the difficulty of inaction when action is possible. The word suggests conscious choice and effort—forbearance requires strength, not weakness. Its archaic quality suited formal discussions of virtue and self-mastery where moral philosophy required elevated language. The term's association with patience and mercy made it essential for ethical and religious verse exploring Christian forbearance or classical temperance. Its distinction from the homophone "forbear" (ancestor) occasionally allowed wordplay on inheritance and restraint.
Example
Example in poetry:
Forbear to speak such harsh words in anger (refrain from, hold back); I pray thee, forbear this violence (cease, stop); Forbear thy threats, for they move me not (desist from); Let us forbear judgment until we know the truth (abstain from, withhold); Forbear, good friend, thou knowest not what thou doest (stop, restrain yourself); She could not forbear weeping at the tale (refrain from, help)

The ancient forebears founded this noble house; "Our forebears fought in the crusades"; Forebears are ancestors or progenitors; We honor the wisdom of our forebears; The forebears established traditions we maintain; Genealogy traces lineage through forebears
Additional Notes
Forbear as verb means to refrain, abstain, or hold back from action—exercising restraint or patience. "Forbear from anger" means suppress or control anger. Shakespeare uses it when characters urge restraint: "Forbear this outrage" (Julius Caesar). The past tense is "forbore." As a noun (spelled the same), forbear means ancestor or forefather (often spelled "forebear" in this sense). Students should distinguish these: the verb relates to restraint, the noun to lineage. In poetry, forbear (verb) often appears in imperatives or expressions of self-control. The prefix "for-" here means "away" or "against," suggesting acting counter to impulse. Modern usage preserves both senses but prefers "forebear" for ancestors.

Forebear as verb (meaning to refrain, abstain) must be distinguished from forebearer/forebear as noun (ancestor, different etymology). The verb appears throughout literature in contexts of self-restraint, patience, and deliberate inaction. Often implies struggle against impulse—forebearing requires active choice. Related to "forbear" (alternate spelling) and conceptually to "abstain." Essential for analyzing self-control themes, patience as virtue, and passive resistance. The term suggests conscious restraint rather than mere absence of action. Useful for discussing temperance, characters who choose not to act despite provocation, and how literature values restraint versus action. Often appears in moral or religious contexts where forbearance demonstrates virtue. Shakespeare employs it when characters deliberate between vengeance and mercy, making restraint morally significant choice.
Also Known As
forebear forbeare refrain ancestor forefather progenitor precursor
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