“In Rebel Song, Rivera Sun writes with lyrical insight that provides us with thought for a new and possible world, addressing hardship and violent repression with “organized non-violent struggle”. She writes in the tradition of Whitman, Jeffers and June Jordan, poems that testify to the indomitable spirit that is alive in the resistance. She reminds us, “The rebel is you. The rebel is I. We carry in our hearts the light of the future”. This work is gritty and visceral and of the earth. The scope and ambition of these words are both remarkable and necessary in these times. Rebel Song reveals a multiplicity of presences good and bad, of strategies for peaceful revolution and for evolution of ourselves as thoughtful compassionate care-takers of the planet. To me it felt like that clarion call I have been waiting for which combines poetry and activism and asks each of us to examine our thoughts and actions as new Earth stewards. It asks each one of us to move beyond our individual lives and begin to build or embrace communities dedicated to this philosophy. As Rivera so clearly says, “We must turn toward life, run toward love, and rebel in the direction of dignity, respect, justice, equality, non-violence, peace, care of the Earth, and hope.” Profound and hopeful, this book is a touchstone for remembering how crucial our voices are for the evolution of the spirit and the survival of the soul.” – Devreaux Baker is a Pen Oakland Award winner for her book, Red Willow People. Her books include The Circumstance of Light, Out of the Bones of Earth and Hungry Ghosts.

When the world says die,
the rebel lives!
When the powerful say, kneel,
the rebel stands!
When society says, go,
the rebel comes close.
When they dictate despair,
the rebel hopes.
When they outlaw life,
the rebel thrives.
And when they mandate hate,
the rebel loves.

No roof but the stars.
No bed but the ground.
No home but this Earth.
No friend but Truth.
This is the song of the rebel…

From the Author

If we look around our society, you will see how oppressive forces try to keep our love chained to platitudes and holiday cards, preventing love from breaking free to sing in the streets or treat all human beings with dignity and respect.  Life is tied to the turning spit that roasts meat for some, while others go hungry. But it is not by violence and attacking that we free love and life from these chains.  No, as Étienne de La Boétie said, "I do not ask that you place hands upon the tyrant to topple him over, but simply that you support him no longer; then you will behold him, like a great Colossus whose pedestal has been pulled away, fall of his own weight and break in pieces."
 
So, it is with this strategic understanding in mind that I make the clear and unequivocal declaration that the rebels in this poem, and indeed, all true rebels in our world today, are those who practice active, organized nonviolent struggle. Furthermore, the modern rebel must also break past the limitations of a solely oppositional stance. Today's rebels must expand their vision beyond the box of what they are rebelling against. We must stand for our principles and visions. We must turn toward life, run toward love, and rebel in the direction of dignity, respect, justice, equality, nonviolence, peace, care of the Earth, and hope. 
 
This is what I believe in. This is how I move into action. This is my Rebel Song.
 
Rivera Sun