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.

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 23 July 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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1 birthday · 4 world events on 23 July

Birthdays

World events on this day

  • 23 July 1637

    Prayer Book Riot at St Giles' Cathedral

    An attempt to introduce a new Anglican prayer book at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh provoked disorder on 23 July 1637. The disturbance became the visible beginning of organised Scottish resistance to Charles I's religious policies. The crisis soon drew all three Stuart kingdoms towards war.

    Event 1637

  • 23 July 1803

    Robert Emmet's Rebellion in Dublin

    On July 23, 1803, Robert Emmet led a failed rebellion in Dublin, attempting to seize Dublin Castle and proclaim an Irish republic. The rebellion was poorly organized and quickly suppressed, but Emmet's trial and execution transformed him into a martyr for Irish independence. Emmet's speech from the dock, in which he declared that he would not have his epitaph written until Ireland was free, became a rallying cry for future generations.

    Event 1803

  • 23 July 1999

    Chandra X-ray Observatory Launch

    NASA launched the Chandra X-ray Observatory aboard Space Shuttle Columbia in July 1999, placing it in a highly elliptical orbit to observe the universe in X-ray wavelengths invisible from the ground. Chandra revealed the violent processes around black holes, neutron stars, and supernovae in stunning detail. Its images have inspired artists and writers by showing the cosmos as a place of dynamic, often cataclysmic energy.

    Event 1999

  • 23 July 1675

    Cassini Division in Saturn's Rings

    In 1675, Giovanni Cassini's discovery of the gap in Saturn's rings, now known as the Cassini Division, represented a significant advancement in astronomical observation. This finding provided insights into the composition and structure of planetary rings, enhancing the understanding of celestial mechanics. Cassini's work laid the groundwork for future explorations of the solar system.

    Event 1675
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