The vending machine sulks beside the stairs,
its glass a smudged cathedral of delay;
no spiral turns, no sugared mercy spares
the quarters pressed like prayers that cannot sway
the stubborn throat that holds its bright-lit feast.
A paper sign—OUT OF ORDER—hangs
askew, a secular veil for hunger’s priest,
while dust anoints the chrome in quiet pangs.
Yet children come with pockets warm and tight,
and office clerks with afternoons to lose;
they slip their coins through iron lips at night
to hear the clink their smaller hopes would choose.
Inside, a hoard of wishes hums and gleams—
a shrine of stalled and carbonated dreams.
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Author:
Matthew R. Callies (
Online) - Published: March 6th, 2026 00:08
- Comment from author about the poem: A couple days ago I posted the poem "Dare Me the Difficult Thing" inviting users of My Poetic Side to issue me poetry challenges. This one is for Tristan Robert Lange who challenged me to write a sonnet about a broken vending machine that becomes a shrine for small forgotten wishes. I hope I succeeded. I am still accepting challenges, and you can give me a challenge in the comments of any of the poems in my "Poetic Challenges" collection or you can DM the challenge.
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Comments4
Matthew I found a treasure in this poem, whether intended or not I see it as a marvelous metaphor for prayer. Even the most devout believer would have to agree not all prayers go answered and for me I see them as putting coins in a broken machine where wishes accumulate. Antiquated and covered in dust of the past society has labeled it out of order yet people come with their change. Brilliantly written it is a fave
Nicely written. Your poem focuses on a vending machine that is out of order, symbolizing unfulfilled cravings and the mundane struggles of daily life. It reflects on the hopes people project onto it, despite its inability to deliver.
I cannot see Tristan complaining about your piece Mathew, which has materialised the vending machine in all it's broken glory.
You are right, Dave. No complaints here...at all! 😊
Matthew, I’m genuinely impressed with what you did with that challenge. The moment you wrote “a smudged cathedral of delay,” the vending machine stopped being a machine and became exactly what the prompt suggested…a little shrine for forgotten wishes. And the closing image seals it perfectly…“a shrine of stalled and carbonated dreams.” Wonderfully executed, my friend, and I really dug what you've done here by inviting challenges. It's a cool poetic exercise that you are pulling off brilliantly. 🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦⬛
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