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



1298

Event dated 13 September 1298

Marco Polo Describes Chinese Porcelain and Silk Manufacturing

What happened

In 1298, Marco Polo's accounts of his travels included detailed descriptions of Chinese porcelain and silk manufacturing, showcasing the advanced craftsmanship of Yuan China. His writings sparked European fascination with Far Eastern goods, influencing trade routes and cultural exchanges between East and West. Polo's observations contributed to the growing interest in Asian products, which would later play a significant role in the development of global trade networks.

Literary impact

Marco Polo's vivid descriptions of Chinese porcelain and silk manufacturing in 1298 influenced the travel literature of his time and inspired later Renaissance poets. His exotic motifs provided a rich tapestry for poets like John Milton and Robert Herrick, who evoked distant wonders and the allure of the East in their works.

Source: Wikipedia

Poets alive in 1298

3 poets
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