Nos mains
Jean-Jacques Goldman
Our Hands
On a weapon, fingers intertwined
To attack, clenching fists tight
But our palms are for loving
There's no caress in closing hands
Long, clasped in prayer
Wide open to cheer
In a fist, things to take away
Can't reach anything with folded fingers
When we open our hands
It takes nothing, just a little nothing
Just one or two seconds
Just a gesture, a whole new world
When we open our hands
Simple and easy mechanics
Veins and ten metacarpals
From phalanges to flexible tendons
And you release or you hold back
And nails made to scratch
Grow on the wrong side
The one that threatens or points
On the other, we reveal our lives in the lines
When we open our hands
It takes nothing, just a little nothing
Just one or two seconds
Just a gesture, a whole new world
When we open our hands
A simple human gesture
When our fists loosen like this
When our phalanges spread apart
Without suspicion, a weapon of exchange
From battlefields to gardens
The courage of the Indian sign
A gift from yesterday to tomorrow
Just a moment of innocence
A gesture of gratitude
When we open like a jewel box
When we open our hands.
