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.

After the death of my mother, 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.

My wife and I are simplifying our days. The server, the monitoring, and the residual obligations that come with keeping a site alive no longer fit the quieter life we want.

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.

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

Strike while the iron is hot

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

Strike while the iron is hot means to act decisively at the optimal moment; in strategic poetry, it emphasizes timing, opportunity, and the importance of seizing fleeting chances before they vanish.

Detailed Definition
Strike while the iron is hot means to act at the moment when conditions are most favourable. The idiom comes from blacksmithing, where heated metal must be shaped before it cools. In poetry, it can describe seizing love, rebellion, opportunity, inspiration, or speech before hesitation hardens events. It is useful because it combines timing with craft: action must be both swift and skilful. A poet may use it to explore courage, urgency, and the fleeting nature of chance.
Example
Example in poetry:
A blacksmith poem might urge the apprentice to strike while the iron is hot; In a love poem, the speaker must confess while courage is warm, proving one should strike while the iron is hot; The proverb means act while the opportunity is present; A poet can use it for urgency.
Additional Notes
Strike while the iron is hot means act when conditions are favourable, from blacksmithing, where metal must be shaped while heated. In poetry, it is rich with craft imagery: timing, heat, hammering, and transformation. It suits love, politics, opportunity, artistic creation, and moral courage. Students should notice that opportunity cools if delayed. The idiom pairs well with forges, sparks, anvils, decisive speech, and the shaping of fate.
Also Known As
Make hay while the sun shines
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