Southern trees bear a strange [bad word]  
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, 
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze, 
Strange [bad word] hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant south, 
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth, 
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh, 
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.

Here is [bad word] for the crows to pluck, 
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck, 
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop, 
Here is a strange and bitter crop