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



Saint Robert Southwell

Saints
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

16th-century English Jesuit poet and martyr executed for his priesthood, known for his religious lyrics.

Detailed Definition
Saint Robert Southwell's poems like "The Burning Babe" blend metaphysical conceit with Counter-Reformation devotion. In poetry, he represents eloquent witness and the use of verse for spiritual consolation. Poets study his work for its influence on Shakespearean and metaphysical traditions. His martyrdom enriches themes of hidden ministry and artistic sacrifice in Elizabethan Catholic literature.
Example
Example in poetry:
Saint Robert Southwell's "The Burning Babe" exemplifies metaphysical poetry blending Counter-Reformation devotion with vivid conceit.; Poets study Saint Robert Southwell for his influence on Shakespearean imagery and use of verse as spiritual consolation during Elizabethan persecution.; A dramatic monologue might dramatize his Tyburn martyrdom as eloquent witness.; Students could imitate his style in lyrics on hidden ministry and sacrificial art.; His poems appear in recusant sequences exploring faith under tyranny and the redemptive power of religious lyric.
Additional Notes
Saint Robert Southwell (1561–1595), English Jesuit poet and martyr, wrote religious lyrics like "The Burning Babe" during the Elizabethan persecution before his execution at Tyburn. His work blends metaphysical conceit with Counter-Reformation devotion and influenced later poets including Shakespeare. In poetry, he symbolizes eloquent witness and the use of verse as spiritual consolation under tyranny. Usage tip: imitate his vivid imagery in recusant monologues or analyze his influence on metaphysical style for sequences on hidden ministry and sacrificial art; related to Edmund Campion, he enriches Elizabethan Catholic literature with themes of rhetorical defiance, redemptive suffering, and the transformative power of religious lyric amid legal persecution.
Also Known As
Robert Southwell St. Robert Southwell Southwell the Jesuit
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