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 M

mayst

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

Archaic second-person singular of "may," meaning "you may" or expressing permission and possibility in formal address.

Detailed Definition
Mayst is the archaic form of "may" for the second person singular, denoting permission, potential, or courteous inquiry in older English. In poetry, it facilitates graceful, intimate exchanges that echo courtly love traditions or philosophical musings, as utilized by poets like Donne and Milton for rhythmic elegance and nuanced modal expression. Its presence underscores possibility versus certainty, enriching explorations of desire, doubt, and contingency. Poets select "mayst" to sustain archaic consistency, enhance syllable precision in meter, and evoke a refined, literary register distinct from contemporary casualness.
Example
Example in poetry:
Mayst: Poetic: "Mayst thy words heal the wounds of yesteryear."; Definition-based: "Mayst" is the archaic second-person singular form of "may," used with "thou" in early modern English; Biblical and liturgical usage: This form appears throughout the King James Bible and Book of Common Prayer, as in blessings such as "mayst thou be blessed"; Exercise: Write a benediction or blessing using "thou mayst," practicing archaic verb conjugation; Craft tip: Pairing "mayst" with "thou" (never "you") maintains grammatical consistency in archaic voice; Contemporary use: Poets writing prayers, elegies, or mock-antique verse often reach for "mayst" to create a solemn, ceremonial tone.
Additional Notes
Mayst, the archaic second-person singular of may, grants permission or possibility with intimate direct address, thriving in love lyrics or divine commands by poets like Donne. It reinforces "thou" intimacy, contrasting modern "may you"; related to modal verb evolution. For poetry students: Practice conjugating in conditional clauses to preserve meter and explore consent themes—its formality elevates emotional stakes in sonnets, teaching historical grammar through creative application.
Also Known As
Mayest
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