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 R

Rest on one's laurels

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

To rely complacently on past achievements without further effort; classical reference to laurel wreaths symbolizing victory, warning against resting on former glory instead of continuing work.

Detailed Definition
Rest on one's laurels means to rely on past achievements instead of continuing to strive, grow, or improve. The idiom comes from laurel wreaths used to honour victory and poetic excellence, making it especially resonant in literary contexts. In poetry, it can address artists, rulers, lovers, societies, or the self. A poet may use it to warn against complacency after success. The phrase asks whether honour should be a resting place or a responsibility to keep creating and renewing.
Example
Example in poetry:
A craft poem might warn the famous singer not to rest on her laurels after one brilliant song; In a heroic poem, the warrior who rests on his laurels loses the next battle; The phrase means to rely on past success instead of continuing to work; A poet can use it for ambition and complacency.
Additional Notes
Rest on one’s laurels means rely complacently on past achievements instead of continuing to strive. The laurel wreath was a classical symbol of victory and poetic honour. In poetry, the phrase is especially resonant for artists, heroes, scholars, and nations living off reputation. Students should ask whether rest is deserved peace or stagnation. It pairs well with crowns, fading leaves, old trophies, and the danger of glory becoming a pillow.
Also Known As
rely on past
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