Lucky for you we're world-wise now. The young
all round earth, views Byzantium without
sailing there - their TV sets speak one tongue.
Editorials and phone-in folk spout
their mass-made righteousness that spares the wrong
and the wronged children from the ruthless rout
you deal your victims. So lucky for you
that we are older now and silly too.

The powerful man, latterly but a god,
now is the master of his media:
we see but that to which he gives the nod.
Our correspondants, via video
are kept by what they witness in Baghdad
and man is not moved now by radio
and views are the progeny of vision
and fiction becomes fact through illusion.

History's bottomless vessel now fills
near to the capacity, and we sense,
as we begin to see how it distils
man's little poured measure of ignorance,
that when its ancient, rank admixture spills
from its apocalyptic lip and thence
into another universe, it pours
neither into our Paradise nor yours!