The Under Review - Issue 4 | Summer 2021

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8 SHAPIROdad’s jaundice complexions cast alike asin health while he waits for the dead to leavea liver he won’t take from us livingto distinguish a looping pitch snappinga syrupy angled slice hundreds offeet the opposite way to distinguishthick piled muscle propelling his actionfrom the frailty of his mortal structure,skeletal and tendinous connectionsunable to compensate for the forcehe generates.MORAL:We text commemoration for anyhit, lucky or driven, recognizinga fit, utile body as fallible.THE UNDER REVIEW
9Imaginary FearRHONDA ZIMLICHBecause multiple sclerosis (MS) is an erratic chronic illness affecting each person in a unique way, I cannotsay how mine is like yours or how it is different. I can tell you where I experience MS in my own body. Ihave numbness in my legs and arms, mostly on my left side. I experience exacerbations that turn my kneesinward, collapsing my legs with the weight of my body as I try to walk, stifling my gait and shuffling myfeet. I have vertigo, though not often. I have cognitive delays, but who’s to say this isn’t because I am nearly50 years old. All of my symptoms are mine, unique to my experience, shared by others but not everyone.But there are parts of the MS experience which are universal. The first one I think of is fear. I feel afraid that I will someday be unable to walk, or run, or dance. This fear imagines me reliant uponsomeone else to do simple tasks. This fear sees me grow heavy and sedentary. And though some might beafraid to lose their vision or the dexterity of their hands or bladder control, we all have fear. This is auniversal concern for us. Perhaps fear is what fostered my desire to run long distances, though I could also argue that somethinghappens on a long run that becomes its own motivator. Let me see if I can capture the feeling:I head out the door a little anxious, a little eager. I set my Strava app and Garmin watch because one showsthe world what I do and the other is just for me. I take a breath; this is intentional and pushes away thefear of suffocation that haunts some of us. Lungs and other involuntary muscles have been known to juststop for people with MS; the communication between the brain and muscles gets jumbled and wires arecrossed or connections are blocked. Short circuits are not limited to just ambulatory functions either.Cognitive delays are also a concern. So I roll my neck as I walk to the end of the driveway. I connect mythinking brain to my body. I stretch loosely, just my arms and shoulders. My running team jokes that onlynewbies stretch legs before a run; stretching comes after, saved for moments of long savoring, free ofanticipation. Homage to the muscles that have carried us three, five, fifteen miles that day. My first few steps find the rhythm and I glide into a pattern. Tap, tap, tap, tap. My arms swing with thecadence of my footfalls. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. I feel the first few minutes in my lungs as theyISSUE 4 | SUMMER 2021
Page 1: ISSUE 4SUMMER 2021
Page 4 and 5: TABLE OF CONTENTSPOETRYA Fable Abou
Page 6 and 7: 6LETTER FROM THE EDITORSMuscle Memo
Page 10 and 11: 10adjust to new requirements. More
Page 12 and 13: 12Learning to DunkCHRIS ABBATEI gua
Page 14 and 15: 14Take OneERIN HILLA spindly-legged
Page 16 and 17: 16even if it didn’t square with t
Page 18 and 19: 18Church SoftballRYAN HARPERThose n
Page 20 and 21: 20Eye of the StormBRETT BIEBELThis
Page 22 and 23: 22A Real HumdingerKEITH BUZZARD “
Page 24 and 25: 24“Not sure how good an idea that
Page 26 and 27: 26 BUZZARD“Well, Paul, I don’t
Page 28 and 29: 28DavidANDREW GENTMichelangelo’s
Page 30 and 31: 30Bring on the boos, Ryan thought a
Page 32 and 33: 32“Christ, next time we gotta mak
Page 34 and 35: 34“Actually, it’s more like one
Page 36 and 37: 36 ERWINThe umpire started back for
Page 38 and 39: 38My serve. I was pretty good at it
Page 40 and 41: 40I remembered this incident just b
Page 42 and 43: 42At Logan Avenue, I turned left, h
Page 44 and 45: 44 BELDENMy mother glanced over and
Page 46 and 47: 46 ELPHICKbeen in a real fight in a
Page 48 and 49: 48Interview with Maya WashingtonTER
Page 50 and 51: 50TH: You mention in the beginning
Page 52 and 53: 52performance poet, who is performi
Page 54 and 55: 54known stories in college football
Page 56 and 57: 56Racing DadKIMBERLY J. BROWNI tell
Page 58 and 59:
58 TAYLORDetroit Tigers World Serie
Page 60 and 61:
60When I was planning my trip, I br
Page 62 and 63:
62The RunnerMORROW DOWDLESleep’s
Page 64 and 65:
64Bonus DaysAMY ZARANEKIn basketbal
Page 66 and 67:
66Book ReviewJALEN EUTSEYBe Holding
Page 68 and 69:
68looking down at us,watching,as Do
Page 70 and 71:
70 CONTRIBUTOR NOTESCONTRIBUTOR NOT
Page 72 and 73:
72 CONTRIBUTOR NOTESALEX WELLS SHAP
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The Under Review - Issue 4 | Summer 2021

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