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12.2k · Jun 2017
Dyad - 42 -
Paul Jones Jun 2017
I sit on the fence       that keeps two sides from
tearing each other      down. I built that fence.
10:00 - 02/06/17
State of mind: doubtful; contemplative.

Thoughts: from thinking - about how I am sometimes accused of sitting on the fence and not having much of an opinion on current affairs.

Every conflict needs a mediator, a diplomat to quell or cool the heat of an argument.

Questions: what is the value in seeing all perspectives of an argument only to side with none? Is that really indifference or is there something deeper to do with acknowledging that there is no truth, only interpretation?

09:50 - 04/06/17
Afterthoughts: change is important because it encourages diversity. Conflict stimulates change.

I think what I am developing with this thought is more to do with the conflict in shaping what people believe is the best environment to exist in. In reality, there are many. There should be many and we should be free to move between them.

The internet is an environment. Some people ascribe to it, others don't. But both it and alternatives are important. Many facets has the diamond.

I believe the fence is symbolic for realising that there is not one perfect way, but many and is wrong to tear down the diversity we have in favour of a singular way.
11.8k · Jun 2017
Dyad - 43 -
Paul Jones Jun 2017
My faith in you comes     from believing that
what you know is true      and I feel is good.
13:00 - 03/06/17
State of mind: hopeful; anxious.

Thoughts: from thinking - about belief, what is true and what is good.

Questions: If I am true to myself what truth do I represent?
Is a persons self-expression a declaration of their truth?
9.0k · Jul 2017
Dyad - 78 -
Paul Jones Jul 2017
As I was looking     at cells, I saw stars,
as if my parts were     a whole universe.
23:15 - 19/07/17

State of mind: awe; deep-thought; curious.
Perspective: universal; philosophical.

Thoughts: from conversations - about microcosms and macrocosms. About the uncanny similarities of the small and large of natural phenomena.

Questions: Why can all the cells in the body get along with their differences but humans are incapable of this? If we fear what we do not understand, does that mean love is the path to understanding?
2.2k · Sep 2017
September
Paul Jones Sep 2017
The blackberries on the railway path are ripe.
  The woodland birds are quick to take their share,
while purple fingers pick amongst the hype
  and rabbits hop in the hedgerow somewhere.
A cool wind spirals, rustling fallen leaves,
  carrying distant cries along its way
and bending the amber-tinged tips of trees.
  The sound of summer joys are in decay.
They soften, becoming calmer, quiet,
  like tired eyes in need of time to sleep.
There are some feelings I cannot forget
  and memories I will forever keep.
Meet me along the railway path, my dear,
  to breathe the mellow, autumn atmosphere.
19:00 - 07/09/17
Sonnet - 28 -
1.7k · May 2017
Dyad - 26 -
Paul Jones May 2017
In the emptiness      of a deprived soul,
there is an ocean     without its water.
00:15 - 11/05/17
State of mind: sorrow, tiredness.
Thoughts: from memories...
Question: none
1.7k · May 2017
Dyad - 29 -
Paul Jones May 2017
Our eyes met, hearts knew.      Signals flashed like code
bound with beautiful,      arresting silence.
15:30 - 13/05/17
State of mind: thoughtful; calm.

Thoughts: from thinking - about how important silence is and the intervals between on/off signals found in communication systems - code. Silence has meaning. Also, Wittgenstein's quote - ' What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence'.

Questions: How can we use silence as an expression? Silence is usually reactive - how can it be active?
1.6k · Oct 2017
Rapture of the Sunset
Paul Jones Oct 2017
The sunset looks beautiful at twilight,
piercing through the underbelly of clouds,
the sky painting vehement, orange light
against the darkened faces of the crowd.
We listen to the sound of a sitar play
and feel the rapture of the beating drum.
Everything the spirit could want to say
is spoken by the motions fingers strum,
reverberating through the evening air,
and those who move to its smooth harmony.
I hold you close, sway with your gentle care.
True beauty is this rhythm, dancing free,
far from the dissonance a dark world cries,
an orange glow reflected in your eyes.
22:30 - 14/10/17
Sonnet - 30 -
1.5k · Aug 2017
Dyad - 90 -
Paul Jones Aug 2017
All I have to do      is care, tend to you
and when you flower,     I will feel human.
22:45 - 10/08/17

State of mind: divided.
Perspective: natural; spiritual.

Thoughts: from thinking - what makes us human is an expanding capacity for love. It's the thought that counts... and your actions that add up.

Questions: What will you do with the sum of your addition?

Listening to: The Lumineers - Angela.
1.4k · May 2017
Dyad - 23 -
Paul Jones May 2017
I have a feeling     and it carries me,
through the veins, to the     heart of the matter.
18:30 - 09/05/17
State of mind: anxious, troubled.

Thoughts: from thinking - originally about how my thoughts are like a lightning storm... and then this.

Question: Is emotion to the mind what oxygen is to the body?
1.4k · Jun 2017
Dyad - 60 -
Paul Jones Jun 2017
There are some who walk      calmly through darkness
because they know how      to kindle a light.
00:00 - 23/06/17
State of mind - calm; thoughtful.

Thoughts: from thinking - about creativity and how amazing it is that human's can bring such wonders into this world.

Also from conversations - on talking about extroversion and introversion with my friend. I put it so introversion is like kindling a light in darkness and extroversion spreads that light. They are both instrumental and equally valuable qualities in a person.

Questions: can it be said that creativity is the instinct to create a nature of our own?

...Or is it that our nature creates us specifically as a creative tool of its own?
1.2k · Dec 2017
Dyad - 97 -
Paul Jones Dec 2017
The wind moves through trees      and waves find a shore
but with my embrace,      I am missing yours.
21:45 - 09/12/17

State of mind: happy; sad; longing.
Perspective: natural; personal.

Thoughts: none.

Questions: none.
1.1k · Jul 2017
Dyad - 73 -
Paul Jones Jul 2017
An ocean apart,      but a bridge is built
and old souls meet on      the road less travelled.
21:20 - 09/07/17

State of mind: joy; peaceful.
Perspective: personal; spiritual.

Thoughts: from thinking - about impossible dreams. There is something instinctive about striving after goals that are hard to reach or have never even been thought of before. To achieve this is to have walked the road less travelled.

The fourth part - 'the road less travelled' - is inspired by M Scott Peck's book of the same title. The overall message of the book correlates with that of this dyad, which is that love is not necessarily a feeling but an activity... such as a dance, I would say.

Questions: would you care to dance?

Listening to: Ed Sheeran - Perfect.
1.0k · Jun 2017
Dyad - 63 -
Paul Jones Jun 2017
In the freezing cold,     blood rushes inwards.
Dance with me, move me     to be warm again.
12:30 - 25/06/17
State of mind: curious; deep thought..

Thoughts: from paradoxes - when affection is not received, the affected may become distant to their surroundings and begin to internalize the process of neglect. Distance is accepted when closeness is needed.

Questions: How can you give what you need?
1.0k · Dec 2015
Reflections
Paul Jones Dec 2015
The mirror becomes interesting when
  the face it's held toward is like a  
reflection of the self. If it isn't, then
  their image is defeated, dulled and grey,
subdued in that they are of little worth.
  Thus, only with attention can you shine.
But what attracts also destroys, gives birth
  to collision. The reason I can’t find time
to show you how your colour can burn bright
  is because you're not willing to let me.
I know how the dark tones become highlights
  and feel you should't fear uncertainty.
Instead, realise the potential that’s there
  if you do not discolour what we share.
- Sonnet 1 -
Original: 09/01/13
Edited: 27/04/17

It was written after a tumultuous relationship. At the time of writing, I thought there was potential but it was all too shallow.

Writing this kick-started my interest in poetry. This is where it all started. My ambition then and now is to write about all my deepest ideas and strongest feelings.
992 · Aug 2017
Alignment
Paul Jones Aug 2017
I feel the subtle changes in the air
  and alter so I might align with you.
We glide with one another, taking care
  to match and mirror each and every move.
Life dances. Sudden motions counteract
  the pause, bringing balance to where we're bound.
Everywhere, in the tracing of our tracks,
  we had left beautiful trails to be found.
The carrier of great things in the mind,
  our wings are lifted by the warmth of love.
We are two old souls that have been assigned
  to soar like eagles circling high above,
have come together with the rising sun.
  Home is a journey that has just begun.
- Sonnet 14 -

Original: - 13/03/13
Edited: 21:30 - 23/12/15
This Version: 00:30 - 18/07/17

This is about harmony and the perfect balance of complementary people, friends, partners... lovers. People who find their strengths capture each others weaknesses, raising one another to soar together in completeness. A dance of personalities, fulfilled by the mirroring of their emotions - their joys, their sorrows. Whatever form these relationships take, what they give, will always belong in the realms of love.
968 · Sep 2017
Dyad - 95 -
Paul Jones Sep 2017
To love and be loved      is to be in the
atmospheric warmth      of feeling complete.
14:30 - 01/09/17

State of mind: mellow; tired.
Perspectives: personal.

Thoughts: from feeling - mellow and tired but generally quite content and relaxed. Like an overwhelming tiredness, returning from a long but beautifully, wild adventure.

Questions: none.

Listening to: Sigur Rós - Dauðalogn
965 · Jan 2018
Dyad - 100 -
Paul Jones Jan 2018
The veins of the earth,     the rivers flowing,
the aspects of you     filling my spaces.
08:00 - 25/01/18
State of mind: wholesome.
Perspective: natural.

Thoughts: from feeling - through an intuition, the flow of life, the oxygen being carried.

Questions: none.
959 · Jan 2016
Dyad - 9 -
Paul Jones Jan 2016
The storm has passed. Its     surrender was swift
as chalk wiped away     from a wet, slate board.
02/01/16
940 · Jul 2017
Dyad - 64 -
Paul Jones Jul 2017
When the mind circles      like an eagle soars,
lost souls will fly high     crying out for home.
16:15 - 01/07/17
State of mind: sorrow; hope.

Thoughts: from feeling - optimistic/loved. The higher we fly the further we are from being grounded. A good vantage point in high places is as important as our dreams, but it is a harsh and lonely place to soar through the thin, mountain air. In the face of hardship and austerity, it takes courage to not give up on what you believe in. I believe lost souls can find their home when their cries are heard... and answered.

Questions: How can we be heard by someone who is unwilling to listen?

Notes: credit to Sun for helping me with the idea.

Listening to: Duran Duran - Ordinary World
937 · Apr 2018
Sēma - 2 -
Paul Jones Apr 2018
Rain does not fall forever but where it is stopped, there it continues.
Trees will not grow forever but when they die, death is not the end.
Sēma is an ancient word for 'sign'. The poetic form Sēma points to signs of change in nature. Using intuition and imagination, a Sēma's meaning can have a human context. To know nature is to know humanity, for they are one and the same thing.
893 · Jan 2018
Logos - 3 -
Paul Jones Jan 2018
it is cold
then hot
                    so quickly
it is tough
it is hard
                    but melts with heat
it tings
it taps
and
                knocks
     about
                             the surfaces
                    of the kitchen worktop
             these are properties that stir tea

it is cold
then hot
                    so quickly
it is cool
it is calm
                    but bends under pressure
it sings
it raps
and
                talks
     about
                              the textures
                              of existence
             these are properties that stir me
885 · Nov 2017
Logos - 1 -
Paul Jones Nov 2017
thinking
thinking is
thinking is not
thinking is not what
                                    you
think it is
you think it is
but it is not
what is it not
                        you
but what are
                        you
if you are not
thinking
a
human
              being

you've been thinking

but if
            you
asked a thought
am i
          you
it would reply
                           no

i'm just passing through
Logos - 1 -
11:00 - 26/11/17

This is experimental but I'm working on a new structural form. It is not free verse and will have rules. It will be playful and rhythmic.  

This explore's 'thinking' but I will have to see if it works with other concepts. It seems like abstract words work well.
873 · Jun 2017
Dyad - 46 -
Paul Jones Jun 2017
The sun is just as      passing as I am,
but there's light in days     that helps a world grow.
18:00 - 08/06/17
State of mind: deep thought; meditative.

Thoughts: from feeling - the smallness and powerlessness of being but feeling, simultaneously, connected to a greater meaning.

I just woke up - possibly still connected to threads of my sub-conscious.

Questions: Are we like the sun rising in the east, setting in the west? What light shall fill this day?
873 · Jul 2017
Dyad - 87 -
Paul Jones Jul 2017
They who know the oak      learn there is wisdom
written in nature     words cannot describe.
12:30 - 31/07/17

State of mind: calm; deep thought.
Perspective: natural; spiritual.

Thoughts: from thinking - that to truly understand something, you have to experience it for yourself. To read about it, or know of another's interpretation, dilutes the power of witnessing something firsthand. In the instance of the oak tree, its knowledge is in the understanding; the understanding is in the sensation; the sensation is in the experience.

We know only what our senses reveal, and they are rooted in our nature, the nature that makes of men what it has made of oak trees. What truth has been revealed is that which makes sense. What is beyond sense, may well be beyond us, simply because it is too much. The light that shines, increases gradually, so there is time to adapt to the intensity that awaits.

There is a memory that exists in nature. It remembers. We can learn all we want to from what has been recorded, but if we should reveal something for ourselves, of ourselves, in ourselves... those things can be found by reflection. The knowledge of ourselves is in the reflection of experience. Make of life what you experience.

Questions: What exists beyond sensation?
856 · May 2017
Dyad - 18 -
Paul Jones May 2017
Still with stoic calm,       you keep the balance,
as moods move through you     like waves through water.
10:30 - 05/05/17
State of mind: quizzical, nostalgia, calm

Thoughts: from thinking - about what I've read from Epicurus combined with ideas of a wave passing through something which temporarily alters or moves it, returning to its original state once the wave has passed.

Questions: Does not life behave like a wave, in this sense?
827 · Jul 2017
Dyad - 86 -
Paul Jones Jul 2017
In the spherical     motions of my mind,
there is an orbit     of thought around you.
00:25 - 28/07/17

State of mind: pensive; longing.
Perspective: personal; universal.

Thoughts: from feeling - like I miss someone.

Listening to: John Murphy - Adagio in D Minor

Questions: none.
819 · Jul 2017
Dyad - 80 -
Paul Jones Jul 2017
Your message was heard     by those who have felt
the numbness crawling     from a face within.
14:40 - 21/07/17

State of mind: nostalgia; sorrow.
Perspective: personal.

Thoughts: from memories - a tribute in remembrance of Chester Bennington from Linkin Park - he made some of the best music I listened to growing up. Mostly from my teenage years.

Words from the last line are derived from their songs Numb and Papercut.

Listening to: Linkin Park.

Questions: why?
818 · Sep 2017
Autumnal Dance
Paul Jones Sep 2017
Where the Earth has etched out the Avon gorge,
I stand and look, from the edge of the downs,
see from the pale blues, where sky and land merge,
to a valley of green and ochre browns.
Under the midday sun, in silent awe,
I stand and look into the glowing distance.
Light dances, like I've never seen before,
the landscape shimmering with brilliance.
It humbles me, how I have happened upon
this panoramic and sublime expanse,
how it will stay with me, once I have gone,
how what I will remember is the dance.
Then I realise, the world, it sings a song.
That all I want to do, is sing along.
22:00 - 22/09/17
Sonnet - 29 -
816 · Jun 2017
Dyad - 57 -
Paul Jones Jun 2017
I am your low roar     of distant thunder,
you are my intense     flashes of lightning.
18:00 - 16/06/17
State of mind: euphoric; ecstasy.

Thoughts: from feeling - the storm within.

Questions: none.
813 · Jun 2017
Dyad - 49 -
Paul Jones Jun 2017
The lightness of your     spirit bounces by,
like a binding ether      joining all the dots.
11:50 - 10/06/17
State of mind: joy.

Thoughts: from thinking - about the free spirit, the joyful weightlessness and emptiness, the space inbetween, holding all matter together.

Questions: none.
811 · Jul 2017
Dyad - 66 -
Paul Jones Jul 2017
A big rock is hard     to start rolling but
when it gets going,     mountains will be moved.
11:45 - 03/07/17
State of mind: calm; thoughtful.

Thoughts: from thinking - about dreaming big. If something is too hard, get help. There are people out there who believe in you because you believe in yourself.

Questions: Did Sisyphus ever laugh?

Listening to: Van Morrison - Crazy Love
804 · May 2017
Dyad - 40 -
Paul Jones May 2017
Sadness pulls me back.     Still, I must press on.
I am in two minds      as if they are one.
11:20 - 28/05/17
State of mind: low; thoughtful.

Thoughts: from feeling - an uncertainty, of sorts.

Questions: None.
763 · Dec 2015
Dyad - 6 -
Paul Jones Dec 2015
The unwavering     will, awoken by
a thousand threats, is     shook but never thrown.
30/12/15
754 · Dec 2017
Dyad - 98 -
Paul Jones Dec 2017
In the frozen earth,      a seed is buried.
Memory rests, waiting      for the warmth of spring.
16:20 - 30/12/17
State of mind: deep thought; mellow.
Perspectives: natural; philosophical.

Thoughts: from thinking - if an idea is to come to fruition, construct an environment from which it can grow.

If an idea cannot die, it is only because it has left traces of itself in as many places as possible. A thing is not dead if its memory can be passed on.

Questions: If a memory is altered slightly with each passing, how can an origin be known if its current state resembles nothing of its original?
744 · Jun 2017
Dyad - 61 -
Paul Jones Jun 2017
Having felt something     change me there and then,
I was blown away.     Spores of dandelions.
15:20 - 24/06/17
State of mind: calm; content; nostalgic.

Thoughts: from memories - of the time I saw a painting by Wassily Kandinsky at the Pompidou Centre that reset my course, gave me the direction I now travel. A sort of paradigm shift, in that instance of realisation, I had discovered who I am.

Questions: none.
744 · Apr 2018
Sēma - 4 -
Paul Jones Apr 2018
The fall of a great tree has the power to take down others.
A clearing is made in the forest and new life fills the space.
738 · Apr 2018
Sēma - 3 -
Paul Jones Apr 2018
A drop of ink does not need stirring to be diffused in water.
A drop of ink becomes concentrated when the water evaporates.
736 · May 2017
Dyad - 41 -
Paul Jones May 2017
Some weeds were unearthed     but I let one be.
To understand it,      I'll watch how it grows.
13:50 - 30/05/17
State of mind: focused; energised.

Thoughts: from reflection - on all the gardening I've been doing this morning.

Questions: If we should understand a person better, would we not learn more from how they have come to be, as opposed to who they are or what they possess?
731 · Jun 2017
The Space Between Us
Paul Jones Jun 2017
The space between ethereal measure,
  the nothingness connecting our divide.
This lack of substance is surreal, obscure
  are old memories of sharing your side.
Ours is the spirit, by which we are bound,
  a realm we share where timelessness persists.
Where shapeless planes carry a formless sound,
  the self becoming selfless, unresisting.
The place you’ve gone does not belong to me
  and in the space between us, seeds are sown.
The tree of life sways softly with the breeze
  while you continue, beyond what I know.
Like wings that carry over to another shore,
  you are my leaf on the wind. I see you soar.
Sonnet - 18 -
Original version: 27/09/15
This version: 23/03/17

I can share this now.

Dedicated to my Father.
I wrote this sonnet for him and read it at his funeral.

It explore's the experience of still feeling deeply connected to something that is no longer. Even after their death, people still affect you and change you. Pieces to a puzzle are still being put in their place as we mirror ourselves and our actions to what they might have done. We learn about ourselves and the world from these reflections.

On an even deeper level, this sonnet explore's the ethereal connections we have to our ancestors and the past. Observing that, what is lost to us will be reborn, through it's decay, feeding new growth. The cycle of life.

          "I am a leaf on the wind.
               Watch how I soar".
                                               - Wash, Firefly
713 · Jul 2017
Dyad - 85 -
Paul Jones Jul 2017
I look into the     window of your soul
and a nebula     of thought swirls in me.
00:00 - 28/07/17

State of mind: pensive; longing.
Perspective: personal; universal.

Thoughts: from feeling - like I miss someone.

Listening to: Linkin Park - Leave Out All The Rest

Questions: none.
704 · Dec 2015
Dyad - 5 -
Paul Jones Dec 2015
In the hem and haw     of hesitation,
a lull of cloud hangs     low and lingering.
27/12/15
699 · May 2017
Dyad - 35 -
Paul Jones May 2017
These halfway feelings...      hang in the balance -
sad to have left you,      happy to have met.
20:25 - 18/05/17
State of mind: sadness; complex.

Thoughts: from memories - the sadness in leaving somewhere or someone you love but also feeling good about those times.

Questions: none.
699 · Jun 2017
Dyad - 62 -
Paul Jones Jun 2017
To feel joy and fear     mingle together -
two alpine rivers      flowing into one.
11:20 - 25/06/17
State of mind: excitement; curious; thoughtful.

Thoughts: from thinking - about paradoxes and emotions. The combination of joy and fear is awe, I believe. It is one of the most sensational feelings.

You don't need to be on top of a mountain to feel awe.

Questions: When will you pluck up the courage to talk to the stranger you admire? It might feel... awesome. It might be... awe-inspiring.
696 · Dec 2015
Dyad - 3 -
Paul Jones Dec 2015
Burnt ochre, brittle     and blackened since bloom.
In death's repose, the     roses are refined.
26/12/15
695 · Aug 2017
Dyad - 93 -
Paul Jones Aug 2017
Beauty is a voice,      like the beating of
a butterflies wing.      Something sensitive.
13:00 - 21/08/17

State of mind: pensive; calm.
Perspectives: natural; spiritual.

Thoughts: from thinking and observation - of butterflies. Beauty is carried on the wings of your sensitivity. Deep insight is born from the nuances of your intuition. The butterfly may be fragile, but there is power in beauty that draws the eye to follow where it leads.

A butterfly ***** its wings...

Questions: none.

Listening to: Evanescence - My Immortal and Going Under.
691 · May 2017
Dyad - 24 -
Paul Jones May 2017
The wet, basalt sands      sing songs with the light,
mirrors the spirit      of a starry night.
21:15 - 10/05/17
State of mind: joy, comfort.

Thoughts: from memories - walking along black sands combined with Blake's line's 'to see a world in a grain of sand...'.

Question: Light and sound are both waves. We talk about composing music with sound. How can we make music with light?
687 · Dec 2017
Logos - 2 -
Paul Jones Dec 2017
dance
d                                             e
    a                    c
             n
                   w i t h
                         me
with          me
           be
cause
           no
one
           should
dance
           alone
Yeah, it works.
Interesting.
687 · Dec 2015
Dyad - 8 -
Paul Jones Dec 2015
What haunts the hollow     hallway of dark hours
fails again. A friend,     not fear, grips me.
31/12/15
673 · Jul 2017
Dyad - 77 -
Paul Jones Jul 2017
A shadow of your     maker, you gave us
hope... strength. Hold the door -      these words became you.
18:00 - 16-07-17

State of mind: sadness, deep thought.
Perspective: philosophical; spiritual.

- GAME OF THRONES SPOILER ALERT -

Thoughts: from watching - Game of Thrones. Series 6, episode 5 - 'The Door'.

In memory of Hodor. We will never forget the strength and servitude you gave to keep Bran alive. That kept hope alive.

Something unreal can still be a vessel for what is true about reality. Fantasy, legends, the spirit of myth and make-believe... stories give us our values, teach us wisdom, and truth. They are a retreat in memory or reading, a silent place of honesty, when all around us the world is riddled with lies, deceit and corruption. They are the pillars of religion, the backbone of our beliefs, the conversations with old friends over coffee, or a pint.

Questions: none.
669 · Mar 2018
Dyad - 102 -
Paul Jones Mar 2018
Too lost to turn back.     Time covers its tracks.    
Voices go unheard,     stolen in the wind.
11:00 - 26/03/18
State of mind: calm; reflective.
Perspectives: natural; philosophical; social.

Thoughts: from thinking - about the problems that arise when a community is broken up, society becomes divided and people no longer understand one another.

Also from watching the film Jane - about the primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall - and this passage from the book, The Tibetan Book of Living & Dying:

             'Obsessed, then, with false hopes, dreams, and ambitions, which promise happiness but lead only to misery, we are like people crawling through an endless desert, dying of thirst. And all that this samsara holds out to us to drink is a cup of salt water, designed to make us even thirstier'.

- Sogyal Rinpoche, Patrick Gaffney and Andrew Harvey, The Tibetan Book Of Living And Dying (London: Rider, 2008), p. 21.

Questions: None.
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