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 S

Sanctuary

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

A sacred or holy place, such as a temple or church; also, a place of refuge or protection, often offering immunity from arrest.

Detailed Definition
A sanctuary is literally the holiest part of a religious building, but it also carries the meaning of a safe haven, historically offering asylum to those fleeing persecution. This dual meaning—as both a sacred precinct and a refuge—makes it a potent symbol in poetry. It represents a space set apart from the profane world, a goal for pilgrimage, a shelter for the vulnerable, and an interior state of spiritual safety. Poets evoke sanctuaries to explore themes of peace, safety, divine presence, and the search for a holy center in a tumultuous world.
Example
Example in poetry:
In biblical poetry, Sanctuary is God’s dwelling: “Tabernacle—Sanctuary where cloud rests”; In contemporary verse, Sanctuary is refuge: “Church basement—Sanctuary for immigrants”; In nature poetry, Sanctuary is grove: “Ancient oaks—Sanctuary where wind preaches”; Poets defend Sanctuary: “They bombed the mosque—Sanctuary violated, but not defeated.”
Additional Notes
Sanctuary offers both sacred space (temple) and asylum (fugitive protection); it is where the vulnerable find safety under divine gaze; in poetry, sanctuary appears as forest, church nave, or open hand—emphasizing hospitality, boundary, and the ethical demand to protect the stranger as sacred duty.
Also Known As
Tabernacle Holy Place Temple Precinct Shrine Temple Tearmann haven altar asile Chancel
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