(_Underneath the southern moon I was cradled to the tune Of the banjo and the fiddle And the plaintive negro croon._) BETSY’S BOY Betsy’s boy could shuffle and clog, Though you couldn’t get him to saw a log, Laziest boy about the place Till he started to dance—and you saw his face! It was all lit up like a mask of bronze Set in a niche between temple gongs— For he would dance and never stop Till he fell on the floor like a spun-out top. His feet hung loose from his supple waist, He danced without stopping, he danced without haste. Like Shiva the Hindu his feet were bound In the rhythm of stars and of streams underground: _Banjo playin’ and de sanded floor, Fiddle cryin’, always callin’ more, Can’t help dancin’ though de preacher says Can’t git to heaven doin’ no sich ways, Can’t help dancin’ though de devil stan’s With a pitch-fork waitin’ in his brimstone han’s; Got—ter—keep—dancin’,—can’t—stop—now, Got—ter—keep—dancin’, I—doan—know—how ..._ _Banjo playin’ and de sanded floor, Fiddle cryin’, always callin’ more, People’s faces lookin’ scared an’ white, Hands a clappin’ an’ eyes starin’ bright. Can’t help dancin’ though de candle’s dyin’, Can’t help dancin’ while de fiddle’s cryin’; Got—ter—keep—dancin’, can’t—stop—now, Got—ter—keep—dancin’,—I—doan—know—how!_ _Lola Ridge_ Lola Ridge was born in Dublin, Ireland, leaving there in infancy and spending her childhood in Sydney, Australia. After living some years in New Zealand, she returned to Australia to study art. In 1907, she came to the United States, supporting herself for three years by writing fiction for the popular magazines. She stopped this work only, as she says, “because I found I would have to do so if I wished to survive as an artist.” For several years she earned her living in a variety of ways—as organizer for an educational movement, as advertisement writer, as illustrator, artist’s model, factory-worker, etc. In 1918, _The New Republic_ published her long poem _The Ghetto_ and Miss Ridge, until then totally unknown, became the “discovery” of the year.