Automatic Happiness

My Hometown Poem #118

I’m touchless, touchless, touchless,
announces the blinking gray screen
on the fancy industrial coffee machine
in the corporate cafeteria, cartoonish
icons pulsating: espresso, americano
cappuccino, cafe au lait, latte, 50/50.

I stand dumbly, blinded by choices, 
holding an empty paper cup in my hand,
reading the sign prominently displayed 
by the sleek stainless steel dispenser. 
The future of the break room is here,
it boldly declares. Bringing touchless 
coffee to your employees will keep them 
feeling fueled and safe throughout the day.

But I do not feel safe. I feel panicked. 
I look to the left and right for instructions, 
how to not touch, but there are none. 
I search the walls, the bulletin board,
pulse quickening. Finally, I place the cup 
on a platform dispenser, willing it 
to be filled by my volition alone. 

But nothing happens. So I lift my forefinger
and poke at the screen, uneasily jabbing 
at a coffee cup with the caption “50/50.”
Immediately, hot streams of light and dark 
liquid pour into the cup from metal straws, 
the aroma of coffee wafting up. My heartbeat 
slows, my breath evens out. The screen flickers 
and a smiley face appears with the words:
Touchless Coffee = Happy Employees! 

As I retrieve the cup and take a sip of coffee, 
it occurs to me there must be an app. 
But I do not search for it. Instead, I savor
my warm drink, basking in my triumph, 
happy that I operated the machine,
happy that I made contact, happy 
that I am human. Happy that I am 
not touchless.

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: This poem was inspired by an interaction I had with a coffee dispenser at an office I recently visited. The machine was much, much bigger than the photo here. The screen blinked “I’m touchless!” over and over and that phrase wormed into my mind.

I invite readers to share stories of your experiences with machines or automation in these days of AI. What emotions do you have when confronting automation?

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