welcome to [city]
please observe all traffic laws in [city]
park only in these designated lots
or garages       pay here
or on the app

the machines
will serve you
they are here to help you
we gave them mouths to say

pay for your parking here
pay for your parking here

observe them in rows     dominoes
echoing each other     activated
by motion   please enter
your license plate     that is not
from this state
you are a robot
try again     try again

it would be better
to download the app     where
you must also prove     you are not
a robot       the robot asking you
can differentiate

you may not
park elsewhere
you may not
park here         unless you pay
at the machine     that speaks
but again
it would be better
to download the app
which is different from the app
for [other city] and [other city]

you must pay       on the app
or at the machines       that say
you can pay   but cannot
recognize you   you
with your movements   your ability
to select     which pictures
have a bicycle in them

Rachel Lauren Myers is a poet from northern Nevada. Her work can be found in Red Ogre Review, South Florida Poetry Journal, Sky Island Journal, and elsewhere. She is an assistant editor at MEMEZINE. She recently relocated to Massachusetts with her pug, Watson, and can’t get over all the lush greenery. Find her on Instagram and Bluesky at @hellostarbuck.