the ATM
for anyone who feels like they give their all to loved ones and gets nothing in return...
you insert the card to take what is supposedly yours,
not realizing the source of it all
had i not left the most convenient location for you to have me
i'd be stripped of everything
some ATMs charge a fee
but here I am, broken yet free
Reflection
"the ATM" uses the metaphor of an automated teller machine to explore the exhausting reality of being someone's emotional and financial resource. The poem speaks to anyone who has felt like they exist solely to give—whether it's money, emotional support, or pieces of themselves—while receiving little in return.
The line "you insert the card to take what is supposedly yours" captures the entitlement that others can feel toward our resources, as if our love, money, or energy belongs to them by right. The speaker recognizes that they've positioned themselves as too convenient, too available, making it easy for others to take without considering the cost.
The final lines offer a bittersweet resolution: "some ATMs charge a fee / but here I am, broken yet free." There's an acknowledgment that while the speaker has been depleted by constant giving, there's also liberation in recognizing this pattern and perhaps beginning to set boundaries. The word "broken" suggests damage, but "free" implies the possibility of change.