Applause.

APPLAUSE!

I'm fascinated by applause.

I imagine that's because

I'm an amateur researcher

Of Nature when compared with Nurture.

When did humans start to clap?

Did it start out as a slap?

Did caveman Dad smack his little boys

And find he rather liked the noise?

Or did he chance on a friendly seal,

And find that claps had some appeal?

Seals and sea-lions clap their fins;

So is that where applause begins?

Or maybe Dad would be out hunting,

Facing a mammoth! (Quite confronting!)

And did he clap to scare the beast,

Not wanting to be a mammoth's feast?

Or was it Mother, with her baby,

Wanting to pacify him, maybe,

Who clapped his fat hands, one on one,

Turning it into a bit of fun?

The strange and curious world of memes

Has much to answer for, it seems.

For certainly clapping became the rage,

Used down the ages at each stage.

But when did it become applause,

With appreciation as the cause?

I'd love to find out, if I could,

When first it came to mean 'That's good!'

Was it spontaneous I wonder,

Growing into a claps like thunder?

It's almost part of our natures now;

To clap when an artiste takes a bow.

And I admit, to the performer,

No sound's pleasanter or warmer.

But my illustration lacks some gaiety;

Not a lot of spontaneity!
Yes, at times we find some flaws
When we're considering applause.


Memes to the fore here: 
http://rinklyrimes.blogspot.com/2009/04/meme-scheme.html