The Storyteller

The Lyrical Tales of J. Michaels

Michaels

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781532602153
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Poetry
• Index: Literature

Whether it's the big-hearted hooker, the henchman priest, the fate of poor Bobby Fischer, tripping with Tom O'Leary, or the last thoughts of a dying man, we are told their secrets by the only one who knows them all, The Storyteller. Yet what haunts the mind still lingers. What is his secret, or dare we ask? Well, here's what I think it is: I believe that each of the stories the aged one offers up contains one morsel of his mystery. When they are all ingested by the mind and the soul, they will reconstitute as one. It is truly a jigsaw puzzle of sorts in that, as each piece of the puzzle is examined, an image starts to form in mind. As each remaining piece is examined in turn and integrated into the whole, the secret starts to emerge. Many may, of course, challenge my assumptions, perceptions, or illusions, but I shall remain steadfast in my belief, albeit delusional. It's the best I've got and I'm sticking with it. So before you lay this splendid book down and we part company, I leave you with the words of the old tall taleteller himself, as he describes what can happen when we fail to recognize the truth before us. Perhaps that recognition is his secret. His voyage ended fruitlessFor he never found that soughtHe failed to let words pointTo where, in truth, they ought

Penguard the Crusher

Penguard the Crusher

A man of meager means

A hollowed out stump, his throne

He longed to be king of the Norsemen

But alas he lived all alone

Penguard the Crusher was a very large man

He stood well nigh to thirty hands

Inside he bore yet a larger heart

But life had deemed to tear it apart

His life had been filled with violence

He had savaged a man or two

His soul was chipped away with each

Yet he knew not what else to do

One day upon the path to nowhere

He encountered a tiny girl

She was lost, beaten and battered

She knew not which way to turn

In his heart he cried for the little one

It ached as he saw her pain

She reminded him of the life he lived

Had he lived it but in vain

Pen’s kingly dreams would have to wait

He had someone now to protect

This lost lonely waif before him

The last thing he thought to expect

For much time the waif would not speak

Her voice had lost its tone

Then one simple act of kindness

Would remind the child of home

Old Pen held out his battle scarred hand

To offer the child some bread

She had eaten not for many a day

Starvation, her impending dread

The child had been left homeless

From the battles that men do wage

She had lost both father and mother

At such a tender age

Old Pen now saw those wars he’d waged

Written upon her face

Far too much for a child to know

At such a tender age

The old Norseman’s heart was broken

As he looked upon the child

Knowing the life he lived

May have cast her to the wild

He had fought and pillaged for many a year

For this was all he knew

Never a boy to be remembered

Hardness and cruelty was all his due

Penguard took mercy now on this child

He would raise her as his own

He would cease the lonely warrior’s life

And make them both a home

He thought what needs the child might have

He knew so little of such

He had no...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Tale Well Spun—Introduction
• Once Upon A Time
• Nicobod & Icobod
• John Henry
• Shows to Go You
• My Captain’s Door
• The Great Belgium Belch Off
• Rebel Yell
• Man on a Wire
• Raggedy Boy
• Jon B. Good
• Penguard the Crusher
• Broken Truce
• Gridiron Hero
• She Dances Her Amens
• Ode to Baby Michael
• The Children on the Hill
• The King of Should
• Town Sheriff
• Hard Livin
• King of All
• The Dragon & the Old Man
• Ship of Dread
• No More Phantoms
• A Complacent Man
• Devoted Henchman
• Searching for Sanity
• A Place to Be
• Poor Bobby Fischer
• The Quest of His Dying
• Two Holy Men
• Star Man
• Crown and Glory
• A Most Predictable Way
• The Twin Who Died
• Redemption Denied
• Reborn Inside
• The Demise of Mr. Hughes
• A Fragile Life
• Toast of the Town
• An Eagle at His Best
• Tyler McShould
• Nightmare for Sale
• Skinny Kid
• The Journey of J Michaels
• Mr. Dull & Mr. Dashing
• A Tale of Whoa
• Trippin with Tom O’Leary
• At My Papa’s Side
• Holden Thought Aloud
• Wisdom Burn
• On The Road to Heaven
• On a Good & Glorious Day
• Boy in a Cage
• Wisdom Bone
• Dead Ahead Fred & Grace
• The Great Cosmic Costume Ball
• Alley Sage
• Easy Meat
• Blind Man Walking
• Dr. Feelgood
• Large Bromar & Smelly Smallish
• Sinister McInister
• Billy the Bully
• Lines of Gold
• Hooker with a Heart
• He Who Must Rhyme
• Bully Meat
• His Name is Fear
• My Pawpaw
• Gradual Guy
• Peace for the Boy
• Epilogue