Robert Wright Follow

Gesticulate

(He)
The things a merciful and clement Wazir must endure

(She)
How surely one can tell the expert from the amateur

(He)
Dear hand deft hand clever and facile extremity
Fond companion to me from my birth
Sweet hand swift hand spinner of fable and fantasy
Faithful friend of my art would they rend us apart
Leaving no finger or fist there
But just the hint of a wrist there
Well then my spirited wit
My mercurial charm
Am I fated to sit with an elbow and arm
And no digits to top them off
If they lop them off

(Chorus)
Well said a plea as ever moved a man to shed a tear
Well said but not said well enough if we know our Wazir

(He)
How can I plead to you
How can I pray to you
How intercede with you
What can I say to you

(Voices from crowd)
This is becoming a bore
Like a dull and old tale
Of the man in the whale

(She)
Hold! I'd like to hear a little more

(He)
When you tell a story
Amorous or gory
You can tell it best if you gesticulate

Suppose the mighty Sinbad
Meets a Djinn who's been bad
They can guess the rest if you gesticulate

A tongue is a tongue
And a lung is a lung
In a tale you can shout or sing
Without the gesture? Nothing!

Should Scherazade
Undulate her body
That can be expressed if you gest...
Can be assessed if you gest...
She'll be undressed if you gesticulate

If I tell you I was walking by the sea
and found a genie in a bottle, that's trite!

Right! For practically everyone has seen a genie someone had to throttle...in a bottle!

Right! But if I say the bottle was soooo teeny
And sooooo was the genie

Until with trembling hand, I pulled the cork
And threw the jug and covered up my eyes

And the smoke began to curl
And the smoke began to swirl
And it curled and it swirled
And it swirled and it curled
As higher it did rise
Till it was sooooo high
And soooo was the genie
Then two great arms reached down
And liftd me up, up, up
Into the sky

And we did fly, the genie and I
We did sail, did sail....

Is this a tale? This is a tale!
Are you impressed? We are impressed!

You see, you see, you seeeeee

For the facile finger
Listeners will linger
They will be impressed if you gest...
Applaud with zest if you gest...
If it's a question of a story, gory, Sinbad, Djinn bad, bottle, smoke, genie, arms, fly, high, sky..
I state, reiterate, gesticulate
With your hands!