The honorable judge,
a-robed like a hedgehog,
was squatted at the bench
like an endowed lodger.
And that machine of law
read out loud
the preprogrammed sentence
to the court’s turned-on crowd
and the robot condemned,
heads dependably bowed.
The automated guard
led him out.
Next trial was clockwork
as the line moved forward
till production halted.
Wind-up judge came unplugged,
hedgehog needed a nudge
when it slept.
Duane Vorhees
.