| James Weldon Johnson, ed. (1871–1938). The Book of American Negro Poetry. 1922. |
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| The Harlem Dancer |
| | | Claude McKay (1890–1948) |
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| APPLAUDING youths laughed with young prostitutes | |
| And watched her perfect, half-clothed body sway; | |
| Her voice was like the sound of blended flutes | |
| Blown by black players upon a picnic day. | |
| She sang and danced on gracefully and calm, | 5 |
| The light gauze hanging loose about her form; | |
| To me she seemed a proudly-swaying palm | |
| Grown lovelier for passing through a storm. | |
| Upon her swarthy neck black, shiny curls | |
| Profusely fell; and, tossing coins in praise, | 10 |
| The wine-flushed, bold-eyed boys, and even the girls, | |
| Devoured her with their eager, passionate gaze; | |
| But, looking at her falsely-smiling face | |
| I knew her self was not in that strange place. | |
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