Patty Ahoy by Cezarija Abartis
Patty walked in stiffly and dropped her bookbag by the coffee table. Her eyes were red from crying. I put aside my waitress’ uniform with the button I was sewing on it and [...]
A Series of Controlled Explosions By David Haight
Evelyn sat at the kitchen table the tiny hands of her tiny body wrapped in supplication around her coffee cup and never once looked at her husband of thirty-nine years. This [...]
On Balancing On A Steel Girder by Jacob Aiello
Have you seen those photographs of the shirtless men balancing on steel girders thousands of feet above New York City? Yes. They look like they’re relaxing in a lawn chair [...]
Vending Machine Press Issue #8
Photo by: Johannes Huwe The very fine writers for Issue 8 are: Dying To Leave By Ashlie Allen French Press by Hannah White Grateful Mother by Kayla Pongrac Two Poems by Carly [...]
Dying to Leave by Ashlie Allen
I made sure everyone was asleep before I tried again. I had nothing to carry just the weight of uncertainty. No one knew how miserable I was here. The reservation was my home [...]
French Press by Hannah White
I cannot be alone anymore. I surround myself with bodies that fill like packing peanuts the empty spaces of my emotions. I layer the voices of distant acquaintances like [...]
Two Poems by Carly Weiser
Sea Legs He’s checking the consistency of streetlamps around Gates Circle. Making sure when night falls they click together like synchronized swimmers. Streamline, [...]
Grateful Mother by Kayla Pongrac
When I was a child I owned a teddy bear that I leashed and dragged into supermarkets and banks and shopping malls. His eyes never changed shape and his smile never rotted [...]
Two Poems by Jenya Doudareva
Tightly Packed Sardines Forget the niceties And note the following: While you are tightly packed Like sardines in a can, Witnessing the gradual (But sure) disintegration Of [...]
Part of the Same Being by Nina Ficenec
We decided to cut out of the mill early, grab a case of beer and just drive, drive, Jay’s knuckles white against the steering wheel, floor boards rattling with bottles as [...]
Two Poems by Helen Picard
Rusty Rood From the second floor window, the red roof of the house next door reflected A strange, rusty glow at twilight. In the summer, bugs would be caught in the purgatory [...]
Three Poems by Jacqueline Markowski
Mania Pulls six figures living paycheck to paycheck, a dry tongue away from homelessness. It takes out steel window loans sticky with mafia points. Mania minimizes its [...]
Diner Hearts by Benjamin Blake
Waitress smiles as she sets down my coffee All I can offer in return is a fleeting glance into her eyes Well received, but hopeless when I bite my tongue Hunched over a [...]
A Frosty Laburnum Morning While Listening To Duck Stab! by David R Miller
Mildly stoned, with my elbows supported by the back deck railing, I leant forward toward the expanse of unmown lawn that shaped the rear yard. The grass was taller, and it [...]
What She’s Made Of by Vincent Anioke
Stacey came over today. Her pink hair ribbon was gone, replaced by a sort of butterfly comb that raked through her auburn tufts. I felt the outline of the comb, my fingers [...]
Welcome to Vending Machine Press First Birthday Issue #7
Photo by Johannes Huwe Dear Readers, Welcome to Issue 7 of Vending Machine Press. This is a special issue as it is our First Birthday Issue. We hope you dig all the stories [...]
Knock Wood by Shae Krispinsky
I met Valerie when I was working on her parent’s house. It was me and Jack and the other guys on our team swinging hammers and sawing and sweating in the sun. Her [...]
Four Poems by Justin Hyde
after your best friend’s wedding we stood naked in front of the hotel mirror arms behind each other’s backs marveling at our youth electric to start our own family [...]
Four Poems by Sloane Eliot
oxytocin waste of time on the sonogram, our mistake looked like an eclipse it felt like staring at the sun i looked until i was blind (turned out there was nothing to see) [...]
