The poem humorously presents a person who always does the opposite of what others do—long hair when others keep it short, noise in silence and silence in noise, fancy dress against uniform and sober dress against fancy, cats among dog lovers and dogs among cat lovers, rain when everyone wants the sun and sun when everyone wants rain. The poet concludes that it’s good that rebels exist because they make society think, though it may not be very pleasant to be a rebel oneself.

कविता एक ऐसे व्यक्ति को मज़ाकिया तरीक़े से दिखाती है जो हर समय भीड़ के विपरीत चलता है—दूसरे छोटे बाल रखें तो वह लंबे, सब शांत हों तो वह शोर करे, सब यूनिफॉर्म पहनें तो वह चमकीले कपड़े और जब सब चमकीले पहनें तो वह सादा कपड़े। कुत्ता-प्रेमियों के बीच वह बिल्लियों का समर्थन करता है और बिल्ली-प्रेमियों के बीच कुत्तों का। जब लोग धूप चाहते हैं तो उसे बारिश चाहिए और जब बारिश का स्वागत हो तो उसे धूप की कमी खलती है। अंत में कवि कहता है कि समाज में बाग़ी होना अच्छा है क्योंकि वे सोचने पर मजबूर करते हैं, हालांकि स्वयं बाग़ी बने रहना हमेशा आनंददायक नहीं होता।

D. J. Enright (Dennis Joseph Enright, 1920–2002) — British poet, critic, novelist, and academic associated with “The Movement”. Unki rachnayein spasht, vinodi aur samajik avlokan se bharpur hoti hain. “The Rebel” me ve vyakti ke non-conformist swabhav ko halka-फुल्का हास्य dete hue dikhate hain.

Stanza 1

When everybody has short hair,
The rebel lets his hair grow long.
When everybody has long hair,
The rebel cuts his hair short.

Hard Spellings — Stanza 1

Stanza 2

When everybody talks during the lesson,
The rebel doesn’t say a word.
When nobody talks during the lesson,
The rebel creates a disturbance.

Hard Spellings — Stanza 2

Stanza 3

When everybody wears a uniform,
The rebel dresses in fantastic clothes.
When everybody wears fantastic clothes,
The rebel dresses soberly.

Hard Spellings — Stanza 3

Stanza 4

In the company of dog lovers,
The rebel expresses a preference for cats.
In the company of cat lovers,
The rebel puts in a good word for dogs.

Hard Spellings — Stanza 4

Stanza 5

When everybody is praising the sun,
The rebel remarks on the need for rain.
When everybody is greeting the rain,
The rebel regrets the absence of sun.

Hard Spellings — Stanza 5

Stanza 6

When everybody goes to the meeting,
The rebel stays at home and reads a book.
When everybody stays at home and reads a book,
The rebel goes to the meeting.

Hard Spellings — Stanza 6

Stanza 7

When everybody says, Yes please,
The rebel says, No thank you.
When everybody says, No thank you,
The rebel says, Yes please.