"Oh! do wag your head!" said the Sphinx to the Stick.
"I can't," he replied, "or I would, darling, quick!
If you'll only indulge in a shrug and some winks,
You'll perhaps set me off," said the Stick to the Sphinx.
"Nay, long 'inhibition,'" the Sphinx made reply,
"Has imparted rigidity, love, to my eye."
"'Emotional movement' no longer is mine,"
Sighed the Stick to the Sphinx; "though I greatly incline
To a dig in your ribs, or a slap on your back
(As a sign of my love), all my muscles are slack.