​The Bequest, by E. C. Traganas

The Old Woman and the Cat, by Akseli Gallen-Kallela (Finland) 1885

​The Bequest
 
The old woman hobbles to the gate, bare swollen feet rowing her tattered frame over the scrub-grass like knotted driftwood paddles. Through the dying wind a grey willet’s shrieking cuts the steely air, preserving the coastline in a salty brine. "Come, little one," the woman murmurs to the waiting kitten as she lifts the rusty latch, voice cracking like a diaphanous shell. "It’s just you and me now. Who will watch over my bloated body when the terns and the plovers come to pick at my empty pockets, eh?" she whispers, scattering a handful of seeds over the barren ground.

old chafed hands
searching for crumbs
a pocket of memories 

E. C. Traganas

Author of the debut novel Twelfth House, and Shaded Pergola (https://a.co/d/dt81bEh) a collection of haiku featuring her original illustrations, E.C. Traganas has published in over a hundred literary magazines including The Brussels Review, The Society of Classical Poets, Amethyst Review, and others. She enjoys a professional career as a Juilliard-trained concert pianist & composer, has held over 40 national exhibitions of her artwork, and is the founder/director of Woodside Writers, a New York-based literary forum. www.elenitraganas.com