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 W

whilst

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

While; during the time that; a more formal, literary, or British variant of "while," indicating simultaneous occurrence or duration of time, as in "whilst I was sleeping."

Detailed Definition
“Whilst” adds rhythmic and formal distinction to temporal clauses, favored in British English and poetic diction. It appears in Romantic and Victorian poetry to prolong syllables or enhance elegance (“whilst the moon did rise”). Though “while” is standard today, “whilst” persists in literary contexts for its melodic flow and archaic refinement, often signaling reflective or sustained action.
Example
Example in poetry:
Whilst I live, I shall defend thee (while, during the time that); Whilst the sun shines, let us make hay (while, as long as); Sit here whilst I fetch some water (while, during); Whilst others slept, he kept the watch (while, whereas); Whilst there is life, there is hope (while, as long as); She sang whilst she worked at her loom (while, during the time)
Additional Notes
Whilst means "while" or "during the time that"—essentially synonymous but more formal or literary. British English preserves whilst more than American English, where it sounds markedly archaic or affected. Students should recognize whilst and while as interchangeable, with whilst carrying formal or literary register. In poetry, whilst provides metrical alternative to "while." The term appears in temporal and concessive clauses: "whilst I waited" (during), "whilst I agree..." (although). Etymology adds "-st" to "while," perhaps influenced by "against" or "amongst." Understanding whilst requires no semantic difference from "while," only register difference. Compare "while" (standard), "whilst" (formal/British), and "when" (specific time). In modern writing, whilst appears more in British formal prose than American. Students should not consider whilst incorrect, merely formal or regional. In historical texts, whilst and while were equally standard; modern American English just prefers "while."
Also Known As
whilest while whiles
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