African American Poetry (1870-1928): A Digital Anthology

Danse Africaine by Langston Hughes

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.

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