Suspended Automation

Written for Living Poetry. Bart claims
that vending machines are under-
represented in poetry and I’m
inclined to agree! Our challenge
is to write a vending machine poem.

I fed you my dollar, you ate it with pride,
then sat there in silence, all smug from inside.
F-3 looked appealing, I gave it a shot,
the damn thing spun once and promptly forgot.

You dangled my chips on the edge of the coil,
a tightrope performance, a slow-motion roil.
“Any second” I whispered, still hopeful, still hungry,
but no, you just hung there, as if to taunt me.

I punched in the code for a second attempt,
and you took my last coins with a show of contempt.
Two bags now suspended, just dangling in spite
of my gnawing hunger, disregarding my plight.

NAR©2026

This is “You Keep Me Hanging On” by Vanilla Fudge

Monday Poetry Prompt: Vending Machine

^{Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated, and may not be used without permission. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.}