Naming It

How time flies, how strange
that a diseased ideology can influence
so many verging on psychopathy that
becoming a vehicle to deliver mass
death on unsuspecting innocents be
interpreted as a critical touchstone
a pathway to eternal glory and an
honoured presence as a celebrated
martyr, particularly favoured by God.
Where once-intrepid tourists eager
to witness the wonders of the world
acquainting themselves with exotic
cultures from heritage sites around
the world concerned themselves
primarily with hopes for clement
weather conditions while their
governments issued alerts on the
incidence of minor crime, warning of
pickpockets, of undrinkable water,
unsanitary conditions, or the prevalence
of insect-borne diseases. Now the alerts
dwell on the potential for vulnerability
to terrorism, now media globally
feature horrendous real-time videos, 
images of scores dead on the streets,
wounded crowding hospitals and
the macabre celebrations of Islamists
warbling their delight over conquest.