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

Hold your tongue

Idiomatic Phrase
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 remain silent, especially to avoid saying something inappropriate or harmful.

Detailed Definition
This bodily command conveys restraint and discretion. In poetry, it often marks moments of tension where speech could incite or heal—but silence is chosen. Poets use it to explore the power of withholding, the discipline of diplomacy, or the agony of unsaid truths. Its physical metaphor (tongue as unruly organ) aligns with themes of control, censorship, and the weight of words, making it ideal for verses about secrets, loyalty, and the courage required to stay quiet when every impulse screams to speak.
Example
Example in poetry:
Wisdom restraint: “Hold your tongue, child—some truths rip more than they mend”; Courtroom tension: “Witness held tongue, eyes screaming what oath forbade”; Cultural respect: “Elders speak first—hold your tongue, listen, learn before adding”; Inner conflict: “Rage boiled, but held tongue—wrote poem instead, fire cooled to ink.”
Additional Notes
This bodily command conveys restraint and discretion. In poetry, it marks moments of tension where speech could incite or heal—but silence is chosen. Its physical metaphor (tongue as unruly organ) aligns with themes of control. Students should note its cultural weight—many traditions value silence as wisdom. Related phrases include “bite your tongue” and “zip your lips.” In political poetry, it critiques censorship; in personal verse, it honors thoughtful pause. Effective when showing internal struggle: “Rage boiled, but held tongue—wrote poem instead, fire cooled to ink.”
Also Known As
Keep quiet Button your lip
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