He's the man from Eldorado, and he's only starting in To cultivate a thousand-dollar jag. His poke is full of gold-dust and his heart is full of sin, And he's dancing with a girl called Muckluck Mag. She's as light as any fairy; she's as pretty as a peach; She's mistress of the witchcraft to beguile; There's sunshine in her manner, there is music in her speech, And there's concentrated honey in her smile. Oh, the fever of the dance-hall and the glitter and the shine, The beauty, and the jewels, and the whirl, The madness of the music, the rapture of the wine, The languorous allurement of a girl! She is like a lost madonna; he is gaunt, unkempt and grim; But she fondles him and gazes in his eyes; Her kisses seek his heavy lips, and soon it seems to him He has staked a little claim in Paradise. "Who's for a juicy two-step?" cries the master of the floor; The music throbs with soft, seductive beat. There's glitter, gilt and gladness; there are pretty girls galore; There's a woolly man with moccasins on feet. They know they've got him going; he is buying wine for all; They crowd around as buzzards at a feast, Then when his poke is empty they boost him from the hall, And spurn him in the gutter like a beast. He's the man from Eldorado, and he's painting red the town; Behind he leaves a trail of yellow dust; In a whirl of senseless riot he is ramping up and down; There's nothing checks his madness and his lust. And soon the word is passed around -- it travels like a flame; They fight to clutch his hand and call him friend, The chevaliers of lost repute, the dames of sorry fame; Then comes the grim awakening -- the end. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE STIRRUP-CUP by LOUIS UNTERMEYER JANUARY by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS FAREWELL TO HIS WIFE by GEORGE GORDON BYRON DOROTHY'S DOWER by PHOEBE CARY SONNET - REALITIES: 1 by EDWARD ESTLIN CUMMINGS BOOKER T. WASHINGTON by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR PORTRAIT BY A NEIGHBOR by EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY |