Danse Africaine

The low beating of the tom-toms,
The slow beating of the tom-toms,
       Low . . . slow
       Slow . . . low —
       Stirs your blood.
               Dance!
A night-veiled girl
       Whirls softly into a
       Circle of light.
       Whirls softly . . . slowly,
Like a wisp of smoke around the fire —
       And the tom-toms beat,
       And the tom-toms beat,
And the low beating of the tom-toms
       Stirs your blood.

This poem is in the public domain.