"The Harlem Dancer" by Claude McKay
Listen to more GoodPoetry at www.GoodPoetry.org, and connect with @itsGoodPoetry on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.\n--------------------------------------\n\n"The Harlem Dancer:\nby Claude McKay\n\nApplauding youths laughed with young prostitutes \nAnd watched her perfect, half-clothed body sway; \nHer voice was like the sound of blended flutes \nBlown by black players upon a picnic day. \nShe sang and danced on gracefully and calm, \nThe light gauze hanging loose about her form; \nTo me she seemed a proudly-swaying palm \nGrown lovelier for passing through a storm. \nUpon her swarthy neck black shiny curls \nLuxuriant fell; and tossing coins in praise, \nThe wine-flushed, bold-eyed boys, and even the girls, \nDevoured her shape with eager, passionate gaze; \nBut looking at her falsely-smiling face, \nI knew her self was not in that strange place.