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

sumpter

Archaic Terms
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 pack horse or mule used for carrying supplies and baggage; also the driver of such an animal, used in medieval and military contexts.

Detailed Definition
"Sumpter" derives from Old French "sometier," from "somme" (burden), referring to pack horses or mules carrying baggage and supplies, and sometimes to the drivers of such animals. Medieval military and travel literature employed it when describing logistics—armies needed sumpters for equipment, travelers used sumpters for baggage. The term's technical specificity distinguished pack animals from riding horses or draft animals, allowing precise description of various equine roles. Poets depicting journeys, military campaigns, or medieval life used such vocabulary for authentic period detail. The word appears in contexts where the practical reality of pre-modern travel—requiring animals to carry goods—needed acknowledgment. Its archaic quality suited historical settings and provided concrete imagery for themes of burden, journey, and the material support enabling movement. The term exemplifies how specialized vocabulary for animals' work roles enriched literary language with precise historical and functional distinctions.
Example
Example in poetry:
A sumpter horse carried baggage and provisions for medieval travelers; In Chaucer, sumpter beasts plod along bearing the pilgrims' belongings; The knight's sumpter was laden with armor and tents; Biblical translations use sumpter to describe pack animals; The caravan's sumpters struggled up the mountain pass; Hardy mentions sumpter horses in his historical verse
Additional Notes
A “sumpter” was a pack animal or its driver, vital for transporting goods in medieval travel or military campaigns. The term appears in romances and chronicles to evoke journeys, pilgrimages, or logistical hardship. Poetic references often suggest burdens, endurance, or humble service, linking the imagery to broader themes of toil or devotion.
Also Known As
packhorse beast of burden carrier mule
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