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

Protea

Flora
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 spectacular South African flower with large, exotic blooms surrounded by colorful bracts.

Detailed Definition
Proteas symbolize transformation, diversity, and courage in poetry. Named for the shape-shifting Greek god Proteus, they represent change and variety—the genus contains vastly different forms. Their exotic appearance and South African origin evoke foreign landscapes and unique beauty found nowhere else. In poetry, proteas represent things that cannot be categorized easily, beauty that transforms, and species adapted to harsh conditions. Their spectacular presence makes them symbols of bold individuality and the rewards of biodiversity.
Example
Example in poetry:
Proteas' prehistoric appearance and structural blooms represent South African identity and ancient lineage; In botanical poetry, proteas symbolize diversity (over 1,400 species) and evolutionary adaptation; The flowers' ability to survive fire through underground buds creates resurrection imagery; King protea as national symbol appears in poems about national pride and distinctive beauty; Proteas' long-lasting cut flowers represent enduring beauty and commercial value; The genus named for Proteus (shape-shifting god) allows for transformation metaphors
Additional Notes
Protea is iconic and sculptural, with bracts that feel almost architectural, making it useful for poems about the extraordinary forms of evolution and the splendour of distinct biomes. Linked with South Africa and fynbos ecology, it can anchor place and identity, especially in postcolonial or travel writing. Its toughness and long-lasting blooms can symbolise endurance and pride. Because it looks unlike a “typical” flower, it can also represent otherness, defiance of expectation, and the beauty of strangeness.
Also Known As
Sugarbush
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