[Verse 1]
Seven bones stacked underneath your ankle bend,
Talus up top where the shinbone meets its end,
Latin word for dice, that's the secret that it keeps,
Roman gamblers carved it out of lamb and sheep,
They called it astragalus, rolled it on the stone,
Every tavern night was built on knucklebone,
Before the cubes of plastic, before the casino glow,
Your ankle joint was gambling gear some centuries ago.
[Chorus]
Talus means the dice, roll it, ankle high,
Calcaneus is the heel where your tendons tie,
Navicular's a boat, sailing through your foot,
Cuneiforms are wedges, driving the root,
Seven tarsal dancers underneath your skin,
Learn their names and never trip again.
[Verse 2]
Calcaneus comes from calx, the old word for the heel,
Biggest of the tarsals, built like sturdy deal,
Achilles got it dipped, his mother held him tight,
Forgot the heel exposed, and that's the hero's plight,
Now picture someone leaping from a second-story sill,
Landing feet-first, heels first, taking all the spill,
Surgeons call it lover's fracture, Don Juan's clumsy jump,
Shattered, driven upward, one almighty thump.
[Verse 3]
Navicular floats just forward of the talus bone,
Curved and hollow-ish, a little rowboat on its own,
Next in line, three cuneiforms stand side by side,
Medial, intermediate, lateral in the tide,
Wedge-shaped wonders, same root as cuneiform script,
Clay tablets pressed with triangles, history's oldest grip,
Sumerians carved stories, your foot carves out your stride,
Both named for the wedge that holds the arch inside.
[Verse 4]
But don't forget the cuboid, tucked along the outer edge,
Shaped just like its namesake, a small and stubborn wedge,
It cradles up the tendon that runs beneath your sole,
The peroneus longus threading through its groove like a tunnel's hole,
Six-sided and unglamorous, the quiet one of the band,
While talus takes the credit, cuboid helps you stand,
Seventh of the tarsals, often left unsung,
Yet every stride you're taking, it's holding up the rung.
[Bridge]
But handle it with caution, same as scaphoid in the wrist,
Both get fed by narrow vessels, easy ones to miss,
Crack them wrong, the blood runs dry, the bone begins to die,
Avascular necrosis waits, no warning, no goodbye,
So respect the dice bone, cradle it with care,
One bad landing, one hard break, and trouble's waiting there.
[Chorus]
Talus means the dice, roll it, ankle high,
Calcaneus is the heel where your tendons tie,
Navicular's a boat, sailing through your foot,
Cuneiforms are wedges, driving the root,
Seven tarsal dancers underneath your skin,
Learn their names and never trip again.
[Outro]
Dice and heel and little boat and wedges in a row,
Seven bones of history hiding down below,
Next time you take a step, give a nod, a little bow,
Ancient games and ancient script are holding you up now.