Interview with My Rotator Cuff

INTERVIEW WITH MY ROTATOR CUFF

By AJ Speier-Wallace

there are twenty one muscles in the shoulder,
or so the ortho tells me. you need all of them to pitch.
you can do almost anything with a shoulder: up/down/right/left— the possibilities are endless
our bodies were made to do almost anything with this joint except overhand throwing. there is nothing in the world as explosive, and so we do it anyway,
like the creation of airplanes or micro plastics, human curiosity has always spanned domains over which we have no right.
and so we go one hundred and five miles per hour over sixty feet and six inches. we shouldn’t; it will kill us at least twice.
with the same ferocity as every idiot who came before me, I let myself fall in love
I am not the first boy to break in a glove.
when the spot between my collarbone and my neck starts to pull I am handed a pop quiz on material I was beginning to understand:
which of the following is true?
a)    your arm is everything you have
b)    your arm is everything you have
c)     your arm is everything you have
d)    your arm is everything you have
the answer is not only e, all of the above, but for extra credit:
your trinity of heroes is your shoulder, your elbow, and your wrist, each one worth double its weight in gold
every single one will betray you, whether sooner or later. this is the first thing to learn about your body
the second, of course, will be your perpetual mantra: your arm is everything you have

AJ Speier-Wallace is a Black and Jewish college student, outfielder, and Mets fan. When not on the diamond, he is probably writing about it.

Jeff Brain is a retired public school teacher. You can find more of his art on his website or on Instagram.