Poetry
Coping Mechanisms
The cow’s hoof bore an upside
down heart of an abscess. We cut into
the ivory-tinged-purple while she waited
patiently in the stall. Looking straight ahead, while my father
lodged the small crowbar tool, curling out the mush, I remembered wondering
who is born with pain built into their bodies and can
tolerate the world as it is and who is born as gentle as an afternoon sun
burnt at the tip of an unknown flame.
Leslie Benigni
Leslie Benigni is a multidisciplinary artist and writer from Pittsburgh, PA. She received her MFA from Bowling Green State University and has been published in many publications including, but not limited to: ANMLY, LandLocked, Tint Journal, Coffin Bell Journal, Permafrost Magazine. Find her on Twitter @lbeni894 and Instagram @benignileslie.