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.

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

Pouakai

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 monstrous bird of prey in Māori legend, sometimes conflated with the extinct Haast’s eagle.

Detailed Definition
Pouakai is described as a giant raptor capable of carrying off humans, symbolizing danger and the untamed wilderness. In some tales, it is slain by heroes, marking the taming of the land. Though possibly inspired by fossil memory, Pouakai functions mythically as a test of courage. Poets use Pouakai to evoke primal fear, ancestral encounters with megafauna, and the awe of nature’s power.
Example
Example in poetry:
Pouakai, the giant bird of prey from Ngāi Tahu tradition, appears in poetry as a symbol of ancient power and ecological memory; Poets use Pouakai to evoke the lost megafauna of Aotearoa and the consequences of extinction; In allegorical verse, Pouakai represents colonial violence or overwhelming force; Some poets reimagine Pouakai not as monster but as misunderstood guardian of the mountains; Its wingspan inspires imagery of shadow and awe across alpine landscapes; In creation poetry, Pouakai’s flight connects earth and sky in primal balance.
Additional Notes
Pouakai is a giant bird of prey from Ngāi Tahu tradition, possibly inspired by the extinct Haast’s eagle. It features in stories of early human settlement and survival. In poetry, Pouakai symbolizes ancient power, ecological memory, and the consequences of extinction. Modern poets use it to reflect on lost megafauna or colonial disruption. Note that Pouakai is specific to southern iwi—do not generalize to all Māori traditions. Avoid portraying it as merely monstrous; it was part of a balanced ecosystem. Ideal for speculative, historical, or environmental verse exploring deep time and loss.
Also Known As
giant eagle sky predator mythic bird
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