Mowgli’s Song Against People

I will let loose against you the fleet-footed vines– 
I will call in the Jungle to stamp out your lines! 
  The roofs shall fade before it,
   The house-beams shall fall;
  And the Karela, the bitter Karela,
   Shall cover it all!

In the gates of these your councils my people shall sing.
In the doors of these your garners the Bat-folk shall cling;
  And the snake shall be your watchman,
   By a hearthstone unswept;
  For the Karela, the bitter Karela,
   Shall fruit where ye slept!

Ye shall not see my strikers; ye shall hear them and guess.
By night, before the moon-rise, I will send for my cess,
  And the wolf shall be your herdsman
    By a landmark removed;
  For the Karela, the bitter Karela,
   Shall seed where ye loved!

I will reap your fields before you at the hands of a host.
Ye shall glean behind my reapers for the bread that is lost; 
  And the deer shall be your oxen 
   On a headland untilled;
  For the Karela, the bitter Karela,
   Shall leaf where ye build! 

I have untied against you the club-footed vines–
I have sent in the Jungle to swamp out your lines! 
  The trees - the trees are on you!
    The house-beams shall fall;
  And the Karela, the bitter Karela,
    Shall cover you all! 

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