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

by 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!