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 I

Irawaru

Mythology
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 man transformed into a dog by Māui after a dispute during a fishing trip.

Detailed Definition
Irawaru was the brother-in-law of Māui; after an argument over fishing rights or etiquette, Māui crushed him and turned him into the first kurī (Polynesian dog). The story explains the origin of dogs and warns against hubris and broken kinship ties. In oral tradition, Irawaru serves as a cautionary figure. Poets reference him to explore themes of transformation, retribution, and the fragility of human-animal boundaries.
Example
Example in poetry:
Irawaru, transformed into a dog by Māui after a fishing dispute, appears in poetry as a symbol of betrayal and metamorphosis; Poets use his canine form to explore themes of loyalty turned to servitude; His story is referenced in cautionary verse about the consequences of broken trust among kin; In some poems, Irawaru’s howl becomes a lament for lost humanity; Contemporary poets reimagine his transformation as a commentary on colonial dehumanization; His presence in myth inspires metaphors of silenced voices and altered identity.
Additional Notes
Irawaru was a mortal man transformed into the first kurī (dog) by Māui after a dispute during a fishing trip. His story warns against broken trust and hubris. In some versions, his wife Hina weeps for him, linking the tale to loss and transformation. In poetry, Irawaru symbolizes betrayal, metamorphosis, and the consequences of conflict among kin. Modern poets sometimes reinterpret his transformation as commentary on dehumanization or colonial erasure. Note that kurī were sacred in pre-colonial Aotearoa—so Irawaru’s new form carries cultural weight. Use with sensitivity; avoid trivializing his suffering. Ideal for exploring themes of voicelessness or altered identity.
Also Known As
dog ancestor Maui brother transformed kin
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