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


On 14 December in poetry and history

Poets born or who died on this date, plus historical events that happened on this day across history.

610 poets with calendar dates · 6,535 events with calendar dates in the catalogue

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2 birthdays · 2 death anniversaries · 5 world events on 14 December

Birthdays

Death anniversaries

World events on this day

  • 14 December 1812

    The Harrowing Retreat from Moscow

    Following his occupation of a deserted, burning Moscow, Russia, Napoleon Bonaparte was forced to order his Grande Armée to conduct a catastrophic winter retreat across hundreds of miles of devastated countryside. The retreating soldiers faced the onset of an exceptionally early and severe Russian winter, with temperatures dropping below minus thirty degrees, causing thousands to freeze to death in their sleep. Harassed relentlessly by Russian Cossacks, suffering from typhus and severe starvation, and forced to cross the icy, body-choked Berezina River, Napoleon's army of half a million men was reduced to a few tens of thousands of broken survivors in an absolute disaster of military hubris.

    Event 1812

  • 14 December 1900

    Publication of Quantum Theory by Max Planck

    Max Planck introduced quantum theory in 1900 to explain the phenomenon of black-body radiation, fundamentally changing the landscape of physics. His proposal that energy is quantized, rather than continuous, challenged classical physics and opened the door to the development of quantum mechanics. This revolutionary idea not only advanced scientific understanding but also had profound implications for technology, leading to innovations such as semiconductors and lasers.

    Event 1900

  • 14 December 2020

    COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Rollout

    In 2020, the rollout of mRNA vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna marked a significant milestone in the fight against COVID-19, receiving emergency authorization for widespread use. These vaccines represented a groundbreaking advancement in vaccine technology, utilizing messenger RNA to prompt an immune response. The rapid development and deployment of these vaccines played a crucial role in controlling the pandemic and reshaping public health strategies globally.

    Event 2020

  • 14 December 2012

    Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting

    In 2012, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting shocked the nation when Adam Lanza killed 26 people, mostly children, in Connecticut. This tragic event reignited debates over gun control and school safety in the United States. The Sandy Hook shooting has had a profound impact on public policy and advocacy efforts aimed at preventing gun violence.

    Event 2012

  • 14 December 287 BC

    Lex Hortensia Makes Plebiscites Binding

    In 287 BC, the Lex Hortensia was enacted, granting binding legal force to decisions made by the Roman Plebeian Council. This law marked a significant shift in the balance of power within the Roman political system, as it effectively gave the plebeians, or common citizens, a greater voice in governance. The Lex Hortensia was a crucial step towards the eventual establishment of a more inclusive political structure in Rome, paving the way for the development of the Republic.

    Event 287 BC
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