Poetry & Process

Poetry & Process

Home
Notes
Poem
Reflection
Exchange
Memory
Archive
About

Share this post

Poetry & Process
Poetry & Process
3:31 AM: An exchange
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

3:31 AM: An exchange

Memory: Part 5

Brian Funke's avatar
Ann Collins's avatar
Brian Funke
and
Ann Collins
Mar 31, 2025
28

Share this post

Poetry & Process
Poetry & Process
3:31 AM: An exchange
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
26
5
Share
Article voiceover
1×
0:00
-1:39
Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade.
Cross-post from Poetry & Process
Listen while Brian Funke sings this gorgeous all-night rainstorm of a poem. And know, whatever storm you might be going through right now, you are always in a very small window of time--a microseason. -
Ann Collins


An exchange: Memory

I am excited to publish Part 5 of An exchange, the side of Poetry & Process where artists explore a topic through an exchange of their art.

This month’s exchange is on Memory, a series of six pieces written over the past six months, poems from Brian Funke, author of Poetry & Process, and essays from Ann Collins, author of Microseasons. The six newsletters will be published in pairs over three weeks, each touching the topic of Memory , and each built from an aspect from the prior piece.

Subscribe to Poetry & Process

Subscribe to Microseasons

I hope you enjoy this collaborative effort on Memory.

Memory: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6



From Fiddlehead: Part 4…

Quiet your mind and open it wider. Roots drilling down, earth-bound, sharing Sky—like gemels, like twins— Trees in our slow-motion dance. Underground, we will meet at a Vanishing place—some night in a dream Where the ghost flowers sleep.

Ann Collins


3:31 AM

Brian Funke

blue and white striped textile
Photo by Brian Lundquist
Lost again,

space below your spine
rises to hold you,
to lift you
as only empty space will,
you are there
and there is nowhere,
it comes to you,
fever and flushed
and flows through
as fire, all
aflame, cool as it burns,
you blow as if ash
must comprehend every
corner of a cloud, every
corner in a gust of wind	
from the soil as it breathes,
you breathe and words
fall, heavy heavy
on the tongue, heavy heavy
on the open plain with
far horizon all around,
around and around,
dizzy you fall
into opening eyes,

you see what you are,
you remember,
you are changed. 


A subtitle for this poem could be A description of the liminal space between reality and dreaming…

What strikes you, speaks to you, or stirs in you after reading this piece? We hope to see you in the chat!

Part 6 will be published tomorrow. May you see what is real…

Brian

Leave a comment


Thank you for reading Poetry & Process! Subscribe to receive new posts and support my work.


If you enjoyed this poem, please share it with at least one person who needs a spot of poetry in their life!

Share


28

Share this post

Poetry & Process
Poetry & Process
3:31 AM: An exchange
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
26
5
Share

No posts

© 2025 Brian Funke
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More