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 T

tassie

Dialect
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

Tassie is a Scottish dialect noun meaning a small cup, bowl, or goblet, frequently used in poetry for drinking vessels, especially ornate or ceremonial ones.

Detailed Definition
In Scottish poetry and song, "tassie" evokes images of traditional drinking vessels, often made of silver or fine material, symbolizing hospitality, farewell, or celebration. It carries a sense of cultural intimacy and ritual, transforming ordinary acts like drinking wine into moments of emotional depth or parting. The term enriches verse by blending everyday Scots objects with lyrical elegance, particularly in Robert Burns' works where it heightens themes of love, departure, and camaraderie. Its diminutive form adds a touch of affection or specificity to descriptions of tableware and social customs.
Example
Example in poetry:
From Robert Burns' "The Silver Tassie": "Go bring to me a pint o' wine, And fill it in a silver tassie; That I may drink, before I go, A service to my bonie lassie." This usage portrays the silver tassie as a vessel for a poignant toast to a beloved before the speaker's departure.
Additional Notes
Historical context or origin: Common in 18th-century Scots literature, reflecting real drinking customs; popularized by Burns in songs blending Jacobite and romantic traditions. Related terms or variations: Diminutive of "tass" (cup); related to "quaich" (traditional two-handled Scottish drinking cup) or modern "cup." Common usage tips or pitfalls: Ideal for evoking historical Scottish atmosphere in poetry; pair with context to avoid confusion with non-dialect meanings (e.g., a decorative ring). Etymology: From French "tasse" (cup), entering Scots via cultural and linguistic exchange.
Also Known As
drinking cup small goblet Scottish vessel
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