The Bait

The machine lumbered into view, and with each giant step we heard thunder crack

And felt a seismic shift beneath our feet

I'd seen it before, once when I was very young

We'd both grown since then

The general mass was sluggish

But I knew its two sets of forearms were nimble enough to pluck sparrows from mid air

A network of even smaller, hair-like arms carried scrap metal and human remains

Up, over and inside its carapace

There must be a web of tubes inside, sending pieces and parts all over

Like veins without a heart

Spoils of war to absorb and assimilate