An acrostic (from the late Greek akróstichon, from ákros, "top", and stíchos, "verse") is a poem or other form of writing in an alphabetic script, in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out a word or a message. As a form of constrained writing, an acrostic can be used as a mnemonic device to aid memory retrieval. A famous acrostic was made in Greek for the acclamation JESUS CHRIST, GOD'S SON, SAVIOUR which in Greek is: Iesous KHristos, THeou Uios, Soter (kh and th being each one letter in Greek and u is also y). The initials spell IKHTHUS same as Ichthys, Greek for fish; hence the frequent use of the fish by early Christians and up to now as a symbol for Jesus Christ.

    Acrostics may simply spell out the letters of the alphabet in order. These acrostics occur in the Lamentations of Jeremiah, and in Psalms 9,10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119 and 145 of the Hebrew Bible. Notable among the acrostic Psalms are the long Psalm 119, which typically is printed in subsections named after the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, each of which is featured in that section; and Psalm 145 (commonly referred to as "Ashrei"), which is recited three times a day in the Jewish services.

    The ease of detectability of an acrostic can depend on the intention of its creator. In some cases an author may desire an acrostic to have a better chance of being perceived by an observant reader, such as the acrostic contained in the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (where the key capital letters are decorated with ornate embellishments), or as in the poem To Doctor Empiric (by Ben Jonson) which is a verse outlined after the word W-O-L-F giving emphasis to, and capitalizing the key letters so such acrostic is relatively easier to discern. However, acrostics may also be used as a form of steganography, where the author seeks to conceal the message rather than proclaim it. This might be achieved by making the key letters uniform in appearance with the surrounding text, or by aligning the words in such a way that the relationship between the key letters is less obvious. This is referred to as null ciphers in steganography, using the first letter of each word to form a hidden message in an otherwise innocuous text. Using letters to hide a message, as in acrostic ciphers, was popular during the Renaissance, and could employ various different methods of enciphering, such as selecting other letters than initials based on a repeating pattern ( equidistant letter sequences), or even concealing the message by starting at the end of the text and working backwards. (Source: Wikipedia, "Acrostic")

The “serana” is an acrostic poem that is oratorical in nature, which means, it has to be delivered aloud. It is a poem outlined after the letters of a name of the person of tribute or outlined after the letters of words or phrases or name of things, plants or animals. Example is "Serana to MICHAEL JOSEPH JACKSON, KING OF POP," for a name, or "Serana to GOD BLESS AMERICA," for a phrase, or "Serana to STONE," for a thing, or "Serana to FISH," for an animal. It is composed of epigrams in iambic pentameter with  couplet rhyme patterns. The poem may end in heroic couplet or poetic triplet (tercet). The "serana" is the highest form of literary tribute given to a person traditionally to commemorate the day of birth. It is also considered as a literary apotheosis to a living or dead person. It depicts the best qualities of the person of tribute. It tries to capture the greatness of the person in terms of his/her humanity; his/her contribution to the enrichment of the human spirit; his/her  achievements in life with the material and immaterial wealth that he/she acquired in his/her lifetime.

    This "serana" is an apotheosis to Michael Jackson. The verses are outlined after the letters "MICHAEL JOSEPH JACKSON, KING OF POP." This is composed of epigrams in heroic couplets and poetic triplets. This was given to Sir Howard Stringer, the CEO, Chairman and President of Sony Corporation, proposed to be inscribed in the epitaph of Michael Jackson.


                                          Author: David J Serana
                                              david@serana.org

                                                            Serana To
                          MICHAEL JOSEPH JACKSON
                                           KING OF POP