Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895.
Arthur Symons 18651945Javanese Dancers
Symons-AT
Dull, shrill, continuous, disquieting;
And now the stealthy dancer comes
Undulantly with cat-like steps that cling;
Motionless, unintelligible, she twines
Her fingers into mazy lines,
Twining her scarves them all the while.
Delicately and imperceptibly,
Now swaying gently in a row,
Now interthreading slow and rhythmically,
Mysteriously, with smiles inanimate,
With lingering feet that undulate,
With sinuous fingers, spectral hands that thrill,
Like little painted figures on a screen,
Or phantom-dancers haply seen
Among the shadows of a magic grove.