Crowd under the rain
eager for the announcement--
centuries' old rite
Smoke pours from chimney
loud basilica bells ring--
They have a new pope!
Announced in Latin
the huge crowd responds with cheers,
waving rain-soaked flags
New Pope Francis waves
so quiet before the crowd--
A silent prayer?
Is he asking for
the rain to wash away all
that has come before?
Priscilla Lignori is a psychotherapist in private practice and the winner of international awards for haiku poetry. The founder and teacher of Hudson Valley Haiku-kai, a community dedicated to studying and living the Way of Haiku, her poems have been published in the World Haiku Review, The Asahi Hakuist Network, Ko magazine, The Mainichi Daily News.