My Death Collection

My Death Collection
Microstories and Haiku Quintets
for Thinking Mortals

UPDATE: My Death Collection, published in June 2026, contains final versions of the haiku quintets and microstories listed below. Many were substantially revised prior to publication. Please read the finished works there.

Introduction

I stand at the portal of my ninth decade of conscious existence, celebrating my awesomely lucky life, prepared to share with you some rather intimate thoughts about the conclusion of that existence, both mine specifically and yours generally. If you have accumulated sufficient seniority, in years and in life experience, to thoughtfully consider the topic of this book, you might belong to the cohort of thinking mortals who might like to compare notes.

This curated collection of haiku quintets and 50-word microstories, selected from my wider body of minimalist poetic writing, offers glimpses under death's kilt where many dare not look. Topics include end-of-life-choice, antinatalism, faithlessness, and secular humanism as a worldview.

Why this existential fascination with death? Reflecting on the approaching conclusion of one's life with full awareness, eschewing the false comfort of supernaturalistic crutches, here most relevantly the promise of conscious afterlife following physical death, is a feature of the secular science-based cosmological perspective that I strive to achieve. In these early centuries of scientific discovery, I sigh in awe of my insignificantly miniscule, yet unique, moment of consciousness in the infinite, yet-to-be-fully-comprehended universe. What a privilege!

Microstories

139. The Alternative ~ I'm not so sure in Dan's voice

137. The Gift of Non-life ~ The most generous anonymous charity in Dan's voice

136. Good Enough ~ He always was in Dan's voice

135. Ambition ~ His wish is assured in Dan's voice

121. Another Day at Sea ~ When do I arrive? in Dan's voice

117. The Death Rattle ~ The end is near in Dan's voice

115. Just Passing Through ~ Zero effect in Dan's voice

109. Living by Default ~ Rational choice be damned in Dan's voice

105. Live Now ~ Love in Dan's voice

095. 400 Forefathers ~ If just one had listened ~ in Dan's voice

094. Did Daddy Worry? ~ I wonder ~ in Dan's voice

093. Christmas Truce 1914 ~ It has not held ~ in Dan's voice

088. Wall of Death ~ I wait for relief ~ in Dan's voice

079. Glad I'm Not Young ~ At final decade's doorstep ~ in Dan's voice

078. Reason's Choice ~ I'll patientlly wait ~ in Dan's voice

077. Wordless ~ At Auschwitz ~ in Dan's voice

075. Impermanence ~ My life's chalk mark ~ in Dan's voice

074. Tracks ~ To our unknown ends ~ in Dan's voice

072. Moral Cul-de-Sac ~ An impossible choice ~ in Dan's voice

070. Wall Decorations ~ If I choose to survive her ~ in Dan's voice

068. North Star ~ Comforted by clarity~ in Dan's voice

067. Recurring Dream ~ Can't wait another thirty years ~ in Dan's voice

064. Our Warm Sea ~ Until the water's edge ~ in Dan's voice

062. Peace ~ Let it be ~ in Dan's voice

060. Uncertainties ~ Carry on living this good life ~ in Dan's voice

059. Danny's Decision ~ A free-thinking choice ~ in Dan's voice

058. A Writer's Final Plea ~ That's all I ask. ~ in Dan's voice

056. A Bid for Remembrance ~ Is this the one? ~ in Dan's voice

052. A Life Story ~ Finding my footing ~ in Dan's voice

051. I Write ~ Speaking from the grave ~ in Dan's voice (Preface to Microstories, coming 2026)

045. Return to Oblivion ~ Thank you ~ in Dan's voice

036. Socrates ~ I am his son ~ in Dan's voice

035. Imbalance ~ God's original sin ~ in Dan's voice

029. Duty to Live ~ To none but me? ~ in Dan's voice

017. I Want My Mom ~ At eighty ~ in Dan's voice

011. Getting Better at Getting Old ~ Less not more ~ in Dan's voice

006. My Dad at 150 ~ When I reach your age ~ in Dan's voice

005. But First, My Mom ~ I sip from your depth ~ in Dan's voice

Haiku Quintets

471. Control ~ Along for the ride, watching scenery

464. Cruise to Nowhere ~ How far to home port?

463. Antique ~ Self's sovereign subject

462. Last Times ~ Will I want to know?

458. A Completed Life ~ My ticket to ride

457. That I Might Be Known By You ~ In maturity

456. The Patriarch ~ My turn is coming

455. What Can I Do? ~ As democracy sinks

452. What's That Word? ~ I can't recall

451. Crossing ~ From here, I can see

445. Terra Octo ~ Stay on watch

441. Window of Opportunity ~ Won't stay open forever

440. Center Mast ~ I'm in life with you

439. The Trade ~ No one shall usurp my choice

437. I Am a Bee ~ A conveyance across time and space

434. Tom ~ 1936-2025

431. What Matters? ~ On the human scale

424. Why I Write What I Write ~ Why this and not that?

421. Pain and the Food Chain ~ Is pleasure worth the pain?

420. Legacy ~ To none greater dare I aspire

416. How Do I Love Thee? ~ How can I love Thee?

413. My Obituary ~ An early draft

411. Being Dead ~ Nothing to fear

408. Slippery Slope ~ How did your mind work?

405. How Is Life Good? ~ Tell me again

403. The Right Side of History ~ When it is written

402. Lucky Life ~ 1945 - 2025

401. Memory ~ As long as I can

396. This Side of the Glass ~ I watch the world's horrors

395. With Eyes Wide Open ~ Preface: Love, Death, and Humanism: Practical Philosopohy in Verse

392. How Do You Not Ask? ~ The inescapable question

377. My Sell-by Date ~ Memory's slippery slope

370. My Deathbed ~ I will die in this bed

351. The Most Moral Choice ~ Antinatalism

335. Glidepath ~ The ground is rising

329. Struthof ~ Nazi concentration camp

321. My Relief Generation ~ Dedication to A Life Mostly Lived

312. A Father's Day Regret ~ I will never know

274. A Decision Deferred ~ Life-snippet: Freshman year at University of Missouri-Columbia, 1963-64

272. My Dad's Afterlife ~ Life-snippet: My dad's death and its consequences, 22 April 1955 to present

228. I Forgot to Ask ~ ... before it was too late

224. My Bucket List ~ Scratched off

220. Misplaced Grief ~ I'm not the one who will grieve my death

216. Five Seconds Left to Live ~ Is this how I die?

196. What's That Word? ~ On the tip of your tongue

195. In Your Hands Now ~ Take this worn baton

178. Voice of a Nulled Child ~ A billion years of suffering averted

169. You are my afterlife ~ My stuff will go on, and on, and on ...

166. Final Moments ~ So, this is how it ends.

160. The Crime of Killing Time ~ I sip slowly now

123. My Race Against Time ~ Will I finish this before fate intervenes?

115. Tet 1968 ~ Life-snippet: Cu Chi Vietnam, January 31, 1968

100. Jim's Last Gift ~ He illuminated the road ahead

74. We Are Accidental People ~ If a different sperm had reached the egg, what of human history?

70. Life Is a Movie ~ View from the peanut gallery

67. Mack's Vision ~ When visions diverge

61. Thin Silver Lining ~ End of young life may not be all bad.

55. First God ~ Grandaddy Deity

45. Chicxulub Asteroid Impact ~ Our lucky day?

35. On Antinatalism ~ Is life good? I mean, really, is life good?

29. Richard Died Today ~ Our friend is with us no more

9. On Dying ~ A lucky atheist's approach to death, dying, and choice

(More will be added from the archives soon)

About me: I am a retired mediator, psychologist, and educator living with wife Susan in Sarasota, Florida. Born in 1945 on a family farm in Missouri, I served, reluctantly, in the U.S. Army in Vietnam (non-combat) and Panama Canal Zone (1966-1968). Holding the PhD in psychology from University of Missouri (1977), I am the author of two books on mediation and one on secular humanism. Five Palms Press, named for my perch overlooking Sarasota Bay, was created to share my poetic handiwork in retirement. I am the father of one and grandfather of two.

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