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 P

Penance

World Religion
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 act of self-punishment or devotion to show repentance for sins and seek atonement.

Detailed Definition
Penance is a sacrament in Catholicism and a practice in many religions involving confession, contrition, and a corrective act. It is the outward expression of inner remorse and a means of repairing one's relationship with God. In poetry, penance evokes themes of guilt, purification, and the struggle for forgiveness. The physicality of penance—fasting, kneeling, self-flagellation—provides powerful imagery for exploring the internal landscape of shame, the desire for absolution, and the painful but necessary process of spiritual healing.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Catholic poetry, Penance restores grace: “Confess, fast, pray—Penance mends the torn soul”; In Buddhist verse, Penance is mindful repair: “Sweep temple floor—Penance for harsh words spoken”; In contemporary poetry, Penance is accountability: “Listen to the hurt—Penance begins with silence”; Poets distinguish Penance from shame: “Not self-punishment—Penance is love’s repair work.”
Additional Notes
Penance involves contrition, confession, and satisfaction; in medieval Christianity, it included fasting, almsgiving, or pilgrimage; in poetry, penance is less about punishment than realignment—expressed through acts of restitution, silence, or service that restore harmony between self, community, and the sacred.
Also Known As
Confession Repentance Teshuvah
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