Rudyard Kipling

"Letting in the Jungle”-- The Second Jungle Book


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!