Page:Poems, Alan Seeger, 1916.djvu/101

 As guiding Gaby or Lucile she dances, emulating them

In each disturbing stratagem and each lascivious appeal.

Each turn a challenge, every pose an invitation to compete,

Along the maze of whirling feet the grave-eyed little wanton goes,

And, flaunting all the hue that lies in childish cheeks and nubile waist,

She passes, charmingly unchaste, illumining ignoble eyes....

But now the blood from every heart leaps madder through abounding veins

As first the fascinating strains of "El Irresistible" start.

Caught in the spell of pulsing sound, impatient elbows lift and yield

The scented softnesses they shield to arms that catch and close them round,

Surrender, swift to be possessed, the silken supple forms beneath

To all the bliss the measures breathe and all the madness they suggest.

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