| James Weldon Johnson, ed. (1871–1938). The Book of American Negro Poetry. 1922. |
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| Zalka Peetruza |
| | | Ray G. Dandridge |
| | | | | (Who Was Christened Lucy Jane) |
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| SHE danced, near nude, to tom-tom beat, | |
| With swaying arms and flying feet, | |
| ’Mid swirling spangles, gauze and lace, | |
| Her all was dancing—save her face. | |
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| A conscience, dumb to brooding fears, | 5 |
| Companioned hearing deaf to cheers; | |
| A body, marshalled by the will, | |
| Kept dancing while a heart stood still: | |
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| And eyes obsessed with vacant stare, | |
| Looked over heads to empty air, | 10 |
| As though they sought to find therein | |
| Redemption for a maiden sin. | |
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| ’Twas thus, amid force driven grace, | |
| We found the lost look on her face; | |
| And then, to us, did it occur | 15 |
| That, though we saw—we saw not her. | |
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