The Winged Finger and the Daily Commute
Terry Pterodactyl was always late
travelling to work on the 58,
snarled in traffic, the rush hour crawl,
roadworks, diversions, heavy snowfall.
‘Terry,’ his boss said, ‘have you thought about flight?’
but Terry Pterodactyl was scared of heights,
terrified by the thought of looking down
at miles of nothing between him and ground.
So he bought a helmet, a bike, bright shorts in lycra
became the world’s first dinosaurocycler.
travelling to work on the 58,
snarled in traffic, the rush hour crawl,
roadworks, diversions, heavy snowfall.
‘Terry,’ his boss said, ‘have you thought about flight?’
but Terry Pterodactyl was scared of heights,
terrified by the thought of looking down
at miles of nothing between him and ground.
So he bought a helmet, a bike, bright shorts in lycra
became the world’s first dinosaurocycler.
This poem is copyright (©) Steve Pottinger 2026
About the Writer
Steve Pottinger
Steve Pottinger is a founding member of Wolverhampton arts collective Poets, Prattlers, and Pandemonialists. He’s performed the length and breadth of the country, and his work regularly appears online. He’s also won prizes, though no-one’s quite sure how. His seventh volume of poems, ‘snapshots from the fall of home’ published by Ignite Books, is out now.
