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 V

Volley

Military
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 volley is the simultaneous discharge of multiple firearms or projectiles, often fired in unison on command.

Detailed Definition
The volley's synchronized burst of gunfire creates a striking auditory and visual image in poetry, capturing both the discipline of coordinated military action and the sudden, overwhelming violence it unleashes. Poets use volleys to punctuate battle scenes with moments of climactic intensity, the coordinated firing suggesting both mechanical precision and the terrifying efficiency with which massed weaponry can inflict devastating casualties in an instant.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poem might use short, punctuated lines to mimic the synchronized burst of a coordinated volley; Poets use "volley" to capture both disciplined military action and the sudden violence it unleashes; A verse could contrast the volley's mechanical precision with its devastating, indiscriminate effect; The term appears in poetry punctuating battle scenes with moments of climactic, intense violence; A poem might describe the eerie silence following a volley, broken only by cries of the wounded; Historical war poetry sometimes uses volleys to illustrate warfare's terrifying efficiency and coordination.
Additional Notes
A volley is the simultaneous discharge of multiple firearms or projectiles, often fired in unison on command. In military history, the volley was a central tactic of line infantry, maximizing the impact of massed musketry against advancing enemies. The discipline required to load, aim, and fire together demanded rigorous training, and the volley's sound and smoke created a fearsome spectacle on the battlefield. In poetry, the volley carries powerful auditory and visual imagery, often representing the collective violence of war, the orchestrated destruction that reduces individuals to part of a massed formation. The term also appears in naval warfare as a "broadside" and in artillery as a "salvo," each denoting coordinated firepower. Beyond its literal meaning, the volley has become a metaphor for any simultaneous or rapid series of actions, such as a "volley of questions" or "volley of laughter," though its military origins remain potent. Poets use the volley to evoke the rhythm of battle, the sudden eruption of noise and death, and the impersonal nature of modern warfare where individual agency is subsumed into collective fire. Related terms include fusillade, barrage, and salvo, each with distinct connotations of intensity and duration.
Also Known As
Salvo Fusillade Barrage Hail Round Broadside
Skip to main content