The Slot Machine of Death...

I bought cigarettes for my Uncle from a machine
like this when I was four. I loved the clink clank
the coin made as it descended and the metallic
crunching and spring sounds as I pulled the lever.
A fresh pack of Luckies would appear in the tray.
I was so grown up. I was a drug mule for the adults.
A pack cost 22 cents then. They gave me the change.

A pack of
cigarettes
in New York
City now
costs $11.00.