The beginning of Harlem Dancer, seems to give away what the entire poem is about. The opening line says "APPLAUDING youths laughed with young prostitutes"(1). When you read this you assume that the speaker is simply describing some young guys looking at prostitutes in a night club. As I read the rest of the poem the central topic that I thought was obvious in the first line changed. Towards the end of the poem the true central topic of the poem was truly unveiled. The speaker in line 3 says "Her voice was like the sound of blended flutes"(3). When the author says this the first idea that cam into my head was that she was in a way controlling these young men with her voice, much like a man who uses a flute to control a cobra. When I read it for the third and fourth time, i thought about how the sound of flutes are very soft and calm. I felt the speaker uses the flutes as a way to represent how truly desperate and helpless this woman was. The author then makes an interesting statement in line 4. The speaker says "Blown by black players upon a picnic day". When he said this it confused me. When i think of a night club, with a bunch of young men, and girls dancing i do not think of a picnic day. I think of loud music, drinking, and people yelling and partying. when i picture a picnic day i think of two people on a date, or a family reunion, where everyone is just relaxing, and talking. Finally in line five the speaker says "She sang and danced on gracefully and calm", this again completely contradicts the things i think of when it comes to a prostitute. When i think of a prostitute dancing i do not think graceful and calm, i think reveling, sexy, and seductive. This statement of her dancing this way really emphasizes the reason she is here, because she has to be. The central topic of this poem is the fact that people in poor economic situations will do whatever it takes in order to survive.