Janus, two-faced, goads us now

his hindsight fixed

upon our failures

Shame

most effective discipline

The medieval Golem

awakens within us

the furs we shed long ago

Now we seek blankets

insulation from harm

insulation from blame

Still Janus conceals his amusement

with our petty quandaries

Blithely plotting

new instruments of deception

Fertile ground

for next year’s crop