In the river Jordan
you baptized the people,
some were brood of vipers:
pharisees, sadducees -
hey sanna hosanna,
king Herod you opposed.
You were his prisoner -
his servants cut your head.
In spirit you survived,
bashing black pharisees
even in red cassocks.
White cassock will not save
the one with black soul
and be it the vengeance,
hey sanna hosanna -
just punishment of God.
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.