In praise of the pollex

Anatomists, those masters of the dark arts
of naming each and every of our body parts,
refer to our thumb as the pollex,
to which I can only say bollocks.
A thumb is a thumb and be glad you have one
for this digit’s absence is really no fun.
Early primates used them as distal branch feeders,
While in apes they took a back seat for the brachiators.
But in humans our thumbs are unusually long,
enabling us to hold and make tools that are exceptionally strong.
And if ever you doubt the thumb’s remarkable utility,
Sprain yours like I did and live in humility.