Langston Hughes
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