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



Shishak

Biblical
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

Egyptian pharaoh who invaded Judah and plundered Solomon’s Temple treasures

Detailed Definition
Shishak (Sheshonq I) attacked Rehoboam’s kingdom, taking gold shields from the Temple (1 Kings 14:25–26; 2 Chronicles 12:2–9). His raid marked divine judgment for idolatry. In poetry, Shishak represents the swift reversal of fortune, the vulnerability of sacred wealth to imperial greed, and the consequences of national unfaithfulness—often symbolizing how glory fades when covenant is broken.
Example
Example in poetry:
In 1 Kings 14:25–28, Shishak’s raid inspires historical poetry about divine discipline; 19th-century verse depicts Shishak carrying off temple treasures as judgment; Contemporary poems use Shishak to explore consequences of national idolatry; In poems about temple, Shishak’s invasion marks decline after Solomon; Some liturgical laments contrast Shishak’s plunder with later restorations; Educational poems cite Shishak to teach about Egypt and Judah.
Additional Notes
Shishak, Pharaoh of Egypt who invaded Judah during Rehoboam’s reign (1 Kings 14), is historically identified with Shoshenq I; his campaign is recorded on the Bubastite Portal; poets may use him to explore divine judgment through foreign powers or the vulnerability of divided kingdoms.
Also Known As
Shishak king of Egypt Sheshonq I
Skip to main content