Life of a PnQ Poet - Z Michael D Nalley

Life of a PnQ Poet allows members of PnQ to interview the poet of the week. Please keep your questions respectful and if the PnQ poet wishes to abstain from any questions, remember they may do so without explanation. Have fun and ask away!

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The King of Rhyme most every time, let's welcome Mike D to the ring. You all know him, and if you don't, you most definitely should. Sorry I got the Z up in your name, Mike, I see it's no longer part of your screen name.

Mike's latest poem -

Reason To Rap
by Michael D Nalley

You can have reason and rhyme
But neither of them all of the time
Put all your truth in little boxes
You are bound to find many paradoxes
When the reason and rhyme are divorced
Shallow grooms say the rhyme is forced

Hey Mike!

What is your favorite thing to write about?

Do you typically edit your poetry?

Do you ever used rhyming websites or the rhymer tool on PnQ, or is it all from the top of your head?

"What is your favorite thing to write about?" Chemical balance through spirituality. I have found myself wounding with words in my face to face life as well as on the internet . I am only human ,but I do love the healing power of truth and believe in the healing power of loving words

"Do you typically edit your poetry?"
Yes. I used to have a problem with editing because it seemed to take away from the mysticism of inspiration . I will admit to wanting to be popular while remaining true to the message I want to reflect

"Do you ever used rhyming websites or the rhymer tool on PnQ, or is it all from the top of your head?"

Most is from the top of my head though I find it to be more of a challenge to avoid a formed rhyme scheme I feel I appreciate free verse and know it when I see it.

On the rare times I paint myself into a corner
I use a rhymer to complete a quatrain or a pattern which I believe enhances the poems delivery

I have secretly admired Bob's honesty, so if you are reading this don't tell anyone lol

Here is a youtube link just to annoy you . The singer reminds me of a muse I met after publishing the balance of my Heart , Soul , and Mind

http://youtu.be/oJWl77gm0ms

http://youtu.be/oKd3FnM2dfo

Who's your favourite poet? Why? Your favourite poem?

What role does religion play in your life?

Do you find young people friendlier than those of your age?

Why do you like Youtube so much? :D

"Who's your favourite poet?" Kahlil Gibran "Why?" Because of his mystic depth Your favourite poem? Honestly is one I wrote "Eve of my Life"

What role does religion play in your life?
Religion is a spiritual path and though I can see the advantage of following a map devoutly I can also see the dangerous intersections that require order. Religion tends to divide while spirituality unites. Tolerance is a useful tool to avoid collision. Organized religion is an oxymoron to many and the fanatics are more power hungry than compassionate. Humility is a virtue impossible to master

Do you find young people friendlier than those of your age? Not always. I feel the old can learn from the young I tend to feel older with people of my own age than with conversations with those older and younger. I cannot say it better than Gibran
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
"For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday."

"Why do you like Youtube so much? :D"

Music and comedy can be a universal language which enhances the way I feel, and I love to share feelings and have feelings shared with me

Very interesting answers, Mike, Thank you :D

Tell us something about yourself (that we don't already know).

What did you learn from life and what is your suggestion to others?

Tell us something about yourself (that we don't already know).
I am not sure what anyone knows because the information is spread out over five years on this site. Many times you may see catholic overtones in my poems due to my eight years of private education. My life could have been much more sheltered tan it actually was. I have always been a lot better at getting into trouble than I have been at getting myself out.. I have been a member of support groups that respect any concept of higher power though they do not teach relying only on natural behavior I take anti-depressants use smokeless tobacco and drink a lot of cokes and coffee but try to avoid stronger stimulants even though I could get a prescription
for ADHD
What did you learn from life and what is your suggestion to others?
Humility is a virtue but it is not thinking less of yourself , but more of others

I thoght when I wrote Free Bird it was about Hawkeye and another Bipolar I thought was the bird of pardise

This is a short autobiography recited by me
http://youtu.be/J-QXWOAdQIE

Favorite comedian?

Top 3 songs in your current playlist?

Favorite comedian? Jon Stewart

Top 3 songs in your current playlist?

I have been obsessed with
Have you ever seen the rain
Who'll stop the rain
What's up
AKA what's going on

This was a great find

http://youtu.be/lEO2QFV3NKo

previous favorites

Not dark yet Bob Dylan
Hurt Johnny Cash
Born this way Lady Gaga

Love CCR! Fun songs to play on guitar :)

Is Bob Dylan your favorite lyricist?
Do you have nicknames in "real" life?
Do you express yourself artistically beyond writing?

Jane

"Is Bob Dylan your favorite lyricist?"

Yes, Bob Dylan is not only my favorite lyricist he would be my mentor
"Do you have nicknames in "real" life?"
The only nickname that stuck is Mikie Years ago when I was required to wear a DOD badge the folks I worked with called MD because my name was displayed Nalley M. D.
"Do you express yourself artistically beyond writing?"
Not really, though many people have told me that my poems are better recited by me than just read

Nalley M.D. is well, " fitting" you are quite the
Pediatrician to us, "younger and lesser Poets".
Dylan will be a legend Mikey, one day, I admire
him also.
Do you think one day you might be a Legend?
I'm thinking Wintergreen Smokeless Tobacco,
Surely not Copenhagen style? What No coffee?
Are you a Hunter Mikey? Could you live off the
land? What is your favorite meal? Your Nobody Poem is simply astounding! Mikey, have you ever
seen a UFO? Have you ever seen Sam Peckinpah's
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, movie? Mikey, surely
The Times Are A Changing.

Nalley M.D. is well, " fitting" you are quite the
Pediatrician to us, "younger and lesser Poets".

Thank you

Dylan will be a legend Mikey, one day, I admire
him also.
Do you think one day you might be a Legend?
Legend in the sense I can already see exaggeration in my abilities and disabilities
I don�t know whether I am gifted and not putting forth all the effort I could or had to work hard at maintaining what tallent if any I have

I'm thinking Wintergreen Smokeless Tobacco,
You nailed it
Surely not Copenhagen style?
What No coffee? Yes I forgot to mention that
Are you a Hunter Mikey? no
Could you live off the
land? Not long
What is your favorite meal? beef and rice
Your Nobody Poem is simply astounding! Mikey, "have you ever
seen a UFO?" no and yes I can't identify any flying object
"Have you ever seen Sam Peckinpah's
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, movie?" I love that movie
Mikey, surely
"The Times Are A Changing."
If we don't start swimming we will sink like a stone lol

Donald, yes and every now and then I put my shirt on right ie the front in the front right side out lol

Mike!

1. Do you have any tattoos?

2. What's your sweetest memory?

3. What's your most-watched youtube video?

Thank you dear poet

"1. Do you have any tattoos?" No I do not . I have nothing against tattoos yet have never desired one on me

"2. What's your sweetest memory?" First kiss,
Falling in love

"3. What's your most-watched youtube video?"
http://youtu.be/J-QXWOAdQIE

I have no kids

Michael,
You always amaze me with your ability to write a poem at the drop of the hat. It always has deeper meanings to it than what some of us can analyze. You have a penchant for remembering things that some of us tend to forget by tomorrow. So in all I have a couple of questions for you.

1. Do you believe that having Aspergers has allowed you to remember the majority of these things?

2. If you had three wishes of anything material or otherwise what would they be?

Yes I believe in spite of the limits Asperger's syndrome places on those who have these autistic characteristics are sometimes able to focus more on obsessions that may or may not lead to accomplishments

"2. If you had three wishes of anything material or otherwise what would they be?"

I would wish to be less dependant on others. Have more social skills and be more confident

Mike, do you regret something in the past?

what do you hate?

do you fear rats?

are you brave when it comes to love?

xD

PS. Mike, you're such a lovely person and a very talented writer and I admire both your talent and personality! :)

Which club is better- your previous one or current one? YOU MUST CHOOSE ONE.

Choose wisely.

"Mike, do you regret something in the past?"

I believe I regret many things in my past. The truth is I do not have the inclination to single any mistake I made out, but rather ruts and traps I walked into that have predictable destinations

"what do you hate?"
I believe the only acceptable hate is to hate evil though many times I have failed to define evil
Hate is at the top of the list of the vices I would avoid when it comes to absolutes. Many times it is useless to curse the darkness that mostly comes before the dawn. In my darkest hours I have given into doubt and despair, but thank God never to the point of no return.
I hate all forms of abuse

"do you fear rats?"
It seems strange for me to rationalize why a rodent or a snake can startle me to the point of jumping out of my skin even though I have never been attacked by either. On the other hand wasp which are by far more aggressive rarely make me jump. Anyway it is surprises I fear the most..

"are you brave when it comes to love?"
According to CS Lewis there are four loves . The power of passion is worthy of the respect of everyone, but I have mostly believed it is rejection that I have feared the most

"PS. Mike, you're such a lovely person and a very talented writer and I admire both your talent and personality! :)"

thank you

"Which club is better- your previous one or current one? YOU MUST CHOOSE ONE."

"Choose wisely."

In truth there are many great members in the pevious and the current. Yesterdays tomorrows are like new and old friends , easy to compare to silver and gold

A bird in the hand need not be messy if the time is favorable lol

The zen master will avoid belonging to a group. If I ever become a master perhaps I will choose wisely

"Pffttt......must be a relative....lmao"

I also find the PnQ family makes me want to laugh for diverse reasons...lmao

LOL, Mike!

-you told me once that you had depression in the past, I actually have it now...so, I want to ask you something related to this subject.
when you had depression, were you able to believe or accept that you are a patient? and that you must take medicines or so?

PS. you can pass this question if you want.

You told me once that you had depression in the past, I actually have it now...so, I want to ask you something related to this subject.
when you had depression, were you able to believe or accept that you are a patient? and that you must take medicines or so?

The antidepresants I have been taking seem to have very low risk for harmful side effects, I don't ever remember even being tempted to take more than prescribed and I don't believe that they are easily abused and do not recall ever being concerned with myself being considered mentally ill
because clinical depression is not that rare

Yeah, for some weird reason, I feel helpless that I have depression.

thank you for answering, Mikie! :)

Bob, it is just that I haven't been mentally ill, ever, and now I feel I am, and that weakens me. But I'm sure I will overcome it in time, lots of people become depressed at some point or another......:)

Mike, what is the one ambition that you have achieved and that you feel proud of?

"You are helpless and will remain such until you deliver yourself from yourself, depression is a funk like no other, but can be minimalized and an after thought if you refuse to allow it to consume you. While it is necessary for some to overcome it with treatment, medication and therapy, most can overcome it simply by refusing to be powerless.....it depends how strong one is mentally...you'd be surprised how many people kick depression in the ass daily.........." BS.... LOL

hey mike, you suck, when you gonna write something good again....lmao
LOL

Pride has been a vice of mine for some time. It is more difficult to be humble when you were taught you were created in the image and likeness of God . I would like to clarify many philosophers accept self as a unity in diversity . I will not argue the concept of delivering self from self because I believe every human was born with a capability of accepting a divine nature. People ask me what the balance of the Heart Soul & Mind is about and the only thing I have to offer is my personal experience and testimony of how a higher power delivered me from human nature. Most of us would avoid being hit by a car when possible and could imagine it could never happen to us. The very same people that can imagine life just happened to us. Before I get off on a tangent , as folks with my mental disability often do, I want to give a direct answer to the poetess question , "what is the one ambition that you have achieved and that you feel proud of?" If you google Chemical Balance Through Spirituality it will eventually take you to me. Bob truthfully seems to acknowledge the power of attitude and claims to be able to distinguish spirituality from quote unquote organized religion. In the metaphorical sense or practical sense I do not believe one can literally dissect the heart, soul, &mind and expect the entity to survive.
Any unhealthy condition of the heart, soul, & mind is a disease. If anyone is successful in overcoming darkness with the delusion that the source of light is contained solely within, I say power to them.

PS poetess and Bob It does seem that Jihads are nothing new and we are all a work in progress
May our creator heal any darkness on our journey through the ages by natural and supernatural means and may "chemical balance" and "organized religion" not be oxymorons. lol

The Reaper of what God has Sworn
by Michael D Nalley

It was in another lifetime, one of pharaohs and their slaves,
Who believed in death and rebirth, without the God who saves.
A time when a Hebrew slave girl overseeing a banquet might have over heard
Moses tell of the mysteries of Osiris, as she listened to every word

Born as a slave to a pharaoh queen who had to hide her gender
The girl was set free by this pharaoh whose heart was very tender
And when the queen's life was in danger the slave girl would defend her
For her the queen had a mission, and with consent she would send her

She danced for an Assyrian emissary giving him red wine
When she learned all of his secrets, her life was really on the line
She was forced to stab the emissary in the heart
To escape death, and return to Egypt for a new start

As the story goes, the girl born a slave was allowed to retire
Moses who was born a Hebrew slave, was lifted even higher
The girl would return with her treasure to lead a celebration
But Moses would return to free all slaves to lead a great nation

Moses was also a friend with a powerful pharaoh
But the Almighty said, through Moses, let my people go
And through the Law of Moses we have come to know
We can learn our life's lessons from a friend or a foe

Who can say without a doubt, no one can be reborn?
Heaven and earth shall unite, that is what has been sworn

Aha.

Mike, I'm impressed.

Bob, stop it!

Thank you poetess may you always accept light

http://youtu.be/OPt6fz1leT0

This one for you Bob
http://youtu.be/4cpX1ZjuaiA

My sister will be facing a serious surgery soon and I feel helpless though I trust in God's will

I had almost forgot about Yusuf Islam until a member of my previous club passed and I got one of his old songs stuck in my head

http://youtu.be/bP6B9HttRI8

I see my beloved in many

http://youtu.be/MshbaZqjDm4

Thank you dear poet Rumi is a true mystic and all of his imagery is truth
The Dali Lama does not have to ask the pizza man to make him one with everything because he already is... smiles :]

www.tinyrevolution.com/mt/archives/001015.html
www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2rDp6FnbP0

Mike, you are really an adorable person :) may your sister get well soon, please keep me updated, ok? :)

Thankyou, I will

Lol.....Bob is just being funny, Mike, mind him not ;)

Mikie, how is your sis? :):)

My sister and I went on a spiritual retreat in Nashville Saturday , we had a wonderful time. She will be heading back to Nashville today to undergo the surgery planned to remove a portion of the pancreas gallbladder and intestine. If the chemo has contained any spread the doctors believe she will have a greater chance of a full recovery

Oh, I hope so, I hope she will be great soon! :)
thanks Mikie! :)

The surgery was a disappointment as the surgeon would not go further because the cancer had spread . My sister still is in good spirits though

Your sister is in our prayers, Michael

Thank you

Mikie, that is so depressing to hear. :(:(
I will pray for your sister in Ramadan, may God help and bless her.