we figure it out as babies:
that thumb and forefinger
can pinch, like a crab,
and lift small objects

as a child, when our 
brothers and uncles
(and bullies at school) use
thumb and forefinger
to pinch our skin–
ha ha, funny joke

as a child we learn, usually
from our parents,
that the forefinger can be
pointed at us,
accusingly,
to let us know
we were bad

growing up, we quickly
adopt the pointing forefinger,
to call out something bad
our sister did, or to
draw attention to 
something at a distance,
say, an ice cream truck

not long ago, we used our forefingers
to dial rotary phones, now we
use them to stab at the screen
of our “smart” phones or
peck out a poem on
our keyboards

musicians, playing
different instruments,
would agree few could play
without the forefinger,
which tends to get
a large number of
the melody notes

hell, we couldn’t even flash
a good old-fashioned
okay
without the forefinger

and no better tool was
ever created to dig out
a stubborn booger

we could go on, but
let’s stop to consider
this question:
if the forefinger
is so freaking great
why don’t we wear 
our wedding bands
upon it

I think this is why:
while the forefinger
is supreme among 
the fingers, the
fourth finger is weakest,
unable to rise easily
on its own,
unlike the others

when we wear 
our wedding bands there,
we are commemorating 
a union that helps the 
weakest part of us
become
stronger

but what if you are unmarried,
what if you don’t go around
pointing your index finger
at others

well, there’s always the
middle finger