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.

I want a simpler life, without the hassle of being online. The work of maintaining a server, the monitoring, and the residual obligations that come with keeping a site alive no longer fit the life I want.

From 4 November 2026 I will not be adding new poems or musical poems to the 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.

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 K

Keep one's powder dry

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

An idiomatic phrase meaning to remain prepared, conserve resources, or await optimal moment; firearms-maintenance metaphor used in poetry to convey vigilance, strategic reserve, or disciplined readiness through combustible-material imagery emphasizing preserved potential.

Detailed Definition
Keep one's powder dry means to remain prepared, cautious, and restrained until the right moment to act. The phrase comes from firearms, where dry gunpowder was essential for effective use. In poetry, it can describe strategic patience in war, politics, love, argument, or artistic ambition. It values readiness over impulsive display. A poet may use it to explore discipline, suspicion, suppressed power, or the wisdom of waiting. The idiom also carries latent violence, since preparation implies possible future action.
Example
Example in poetry:
A war poem might have the old captain whisper, keep your powder dry, while the enemy drums approach; In political verse, keep one's powder dry can mean stay ready but do not act too soon; The phrase suggests caution, preparedness, and restraint; A poet can use it for battle, argument, or moral struggle.
Additional Notes
Keep one's powder dry means remain prepared and conserve resources until the right moment. The phrase comes from gunpowder, which must stay dry to work. In poetry, it can express caution, discipline, military readiness, political strategy, or emotional restraint. Students should notice its tension: action is delayed not from weakness but from preparedness. It pairs well with rain, muskets, silence, waiting, and stored fire.
Also Known As
stay prepared
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