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 H

Hélas

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

"Hélas" is an archaic French interjection meaning "alas," used to express sorrow, regret, or lamentation.

Detailed Definition
The term "Hélas" conveys a sense of mourning or disappointment, often used in poetry to evoke deep emotional responses. In Archibald MacLeish's poem "Youth is old before his time," the repeated use of "Hélas" underscores the themes of lost youth and inevitable decline. This interjection not only adds a lyrical quality to the poem but also emphasizes the speaker's lament for the fleeting nature of life and joy, enhancing the overall melancholic tone.
Example
Example in poetry:
In MacLeish's poem, "Hélas! Heighho!" appears multiple times, serving as a poignant refrain that encapsulates the speaker's sorrow over the loss of youthful vitality and joy. For instance, the lines "Youth is drear before his days, / Hélas! Heighho!" illustrate this lamentation, making "Hélas" a powerful emotional anchor within the poem.
Additional Notes
The term "Hélas" originates from the Old French word "helas," which has been used in literature since the medieval period to express grief or regret. It is often found in works that explore themes of mortality and the passage of time. While "Hélas" is not commonly used in contemporary language, its presence in poetry can evoke a sense of nostalgia and formality. Related terms include "alas," which serves a similar function in modern English. When using "Hélas" in writing, it is important to maintain the poetic context to ensure its emotional weight is preserved.
Also Known As
Alas Woe Regret
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