# #machines

5 poems

## [photobooth](https://chromato.graphics/photobooth)

shoes stick to the floor,  
we wander past the bar  
into a dim red-lit lounge.  
pinball, locked door, you.  
you’re a seeing machine.  
pull your curtain closed—  
shroud us in secrets that  
end just above our waist.

tap on a train faregate,  
a beep reminds us that  
transportation isn’t free,  
a short trip still costs us.  
you’re a seeing machine.  
see what we’re made of.  
we’re trapped here now,  
we can’t hide from flash.

all whirring and waiting.  
don’t know how long ’til  
our capture, our release.  
we kiss from impatience.  
you’re a seeing machine.  
our mouths are blurring,  
hands in hair, bite marks  
in flesh. we have no time.

falling back into the light.  
was there music before?  
we lean against the box,  
we cannot lose contact.  
you’re a seeing machine.  
you take time to develop.  
wait here: a strip will fall.  
freeze us in four frames.

![Black-and-white four-frame photobooth strip of two people kissing.](https://chromato.graphics/_astro/photobooth.CBK1CijU_Z184ngP.webp)

## [dial](https://chromato.graphics/dial)

two-tone composition  
unknown destinations  
an operator obsesses  
over pickup & hangup

one +1 more connected  
than 2. you will. _and_  
_the company that will_  
_bring it to you is me_

push digits into holes,  
keep spinning until you  
feel the click in place  
switch arms, hands tire

blinking countless lines,  
voice carrying fast & far  
on continuous copper wire  
silence costs us as much—

draw X’s & O’s in octothorps  
sleep clutching our handsets  
there is so much to exchange  
during long-distance calling

## [triumph](https://chromato.graphics/triumph)

you outfit us in leather armor  
tie boots tight as heartstrings  
we dance and breathe as one  
enter prisms — offset blinking

INFORMATION GLADLY GIVEN  
BUT SAFETY REQUIRES AVOIDING  
UNNECESSARY CONVERSATION

underground, understand a halo  
grip my thighs below your wings  
breathe — you ask “_you ready?_”  
to leave, to ride, to fly. of course.

don’t look down & don’t let go  
become part of a red machine:  
a bell, a backpack, a balance  
gripping tightly, holding loosely

i am not afraid to ride with you  
to glide across rock and sound  
my pilot is divine, invincible even  
molded contours promise safety

PLEASE HOLD ON  
SUDDEN STOPS ARE  
SOMETIMES NECESSARY

as we swerve, we synchronize  
we’re on an island, smiling wide  
small compared to a lighthouse  
even smaller against your frame

my sister thought she could fall  
along the same route we travel  
but i know i fell for you already  
ache is just what flight feels like

## [camcorder](https://chromato.graphics/camcorder)

twentysomething object  
built to take a beating—  
recording blurry scenes  
to wound cassette tapes.

humming with precision  
opening up when pressed  
her red button worndown  
by many careless owners.

secondhand machine with  
new ways of seeing inside  
freezing a frame when it  
can’t take this much in…

an observation device for  
triangular dynamics that  
separate signal and static  
projecting what is actual.

a new lease on life from  
repairs to its internals,  
charging, maintenance, &  
importantly: regular use.

## [birdcage](https://chromato.graphics/birdcage)

you ask me if i’m okay  
⸻ with elevators?  
which strikes me odd,  
the way your eyes do

we board & take flight  
to the control room, 42  
teacups on brass hooks  
carefully cluttered views

press my buttons, down  
with the same force you  
use to operate machines.  
the right pressure matters

the doors close around  
your fingers, lights flicker  
surging harnessed power  
i can’t look away, i won’t

we fall together back to  
earth where we stumble  
into your unmarked van.  
click of clear recognition

the next time i step into  
your cage you kiss my  
eyes closed and pull a  
lever  
          that  
                  **stops**  
                             time

we’re suspended⸺ trapped  
in moments of wrought iron  
pressed against their grates  
and each other’s full frames

             for as long  
             as we are,  
             we get to  
             be happy