The Color of Summer: or The New Garden of Earthly Delights by Reinaldo Arenas Page A

bard—
the sacred cow, of course, I mean—
so he can recite his favorite paean
and bore them all to death!
    F IFO :
Well, whatever you do, you’d better make it fast!
There’s no time to lose, I fear;
I know that when the President’s plane lands,
he’ll upstage us for sure.
    P AULA A MANDA :
Not to worry. This old goat
is guaranteed to sink their boat.
    F IFO :
I don’t see any old goat—where’d he go?
    P AULA A MANDA :
Here he is. Odiseo Ruego!
    We see the poet Odiseo Ruego, goateed, making his way along laboriously with the aid of a walking stick and then climbing up on the Malecón. While he recites his poem, on the movie screen we see the President making love to the rabbit.
    O DISEO R UEGO : (addressing his words to Avellaneda, who’s drawing farther and farther away)
I ask you, lady of exalted lute,
sailing like an owl in your pea-green boat,
what it is you’re expecting to do?
And will your peapod stay afloat?
Here you can blissfully contemplate
the poplar trees of Paula Avenue
through the iron bars of the grate .
in the prison cell that’s waiting for you.
    As Odiseo is reciting his poem, we see behind him, on the screen, the president of the United States and his rabbit in a wild erotic wrestling match—an encounter that grows more and more frenzied. The president has removed all his clothes; the rabbit has its entire head rammed up the president’s ass. The president gives a shriek of pleasure. The rabbit gnaws and burrows at the presidential rectum with its teeth and claws, as though trying to tunnel in. The president’s heavy breathing mixes with the rabbit’s squealing.
    O DISEO R UEGO :
O lady of fruit and other pleasures,
reach out—here for you are untold treasures.
Save yourself, lady of the oars,
don’t sail into that land of whores!
    On the screen we now see the rabbit even more furiously digging and burrowing between the presidential cheeks. Finally, with a little popping sound, the rabbit climbs all the way into the president’s anus. The president gives an ear-piercing shriek of pleasure, and begins to leap and hop about the screen with the rabbit up his ass. Finally, he takes off running, hopping form key to key and giving howls of pleasure—all the way to the White House, where he spatters the white columns with blood.
    O DISEO R UEGO :
For once up north, how keenly you will yearn
for the sea’s soft mist
and the waves’ whisper,
how hotly, fiercely you will burn
for the ocean’s warm caress
of your ample keester . . .
    F IFO :
What the hell is that idiot babbling about? He’s just stolen the
whole show and now he’s going on about sea mist and caresses and who knows what nonsense!
who knows what nonsense!
    P AULA A MANDA :
It’s what’s called poetic license.
    F IFO :
As far as I’m concerned that’s no defense.
    P AULA A MANDA :
But Comandante, it’s really excellent.
    F IFO :
Bullshit! I’ve had enough of this!
Poet or not, he can kiss my royal arse!
I’m gonna feed him to the sharks!
    Fifo runs over to the Malecón and with a single dropkick launches Odiseo into the bay.
    O DISEO R UEGO : (as he sinks)
O corruption, O witch with hardly any rear,
your ass is grass,
your end is near—
prepare to meet your maker!
    F IFO :
I think you’re the one that better prepare yourself, you faker!
    As Ruego sinks, Padre Angel Gastaluz appears, now riding the shark that had been pulling him.
    G ASTALUZ :
Get up on this beast I’ve converted to Christianity,
and let’s make a run for it.
    The two poets, riding the shark, speed away. The priest guides the shark by pulling this way and that on his long scapular, which he is now using as reins.
    F IFO : (sneering)
What do I care about those small fry?
They’re nothing to me—
let ’em think they’re getting away,
they’re bound to die at sea.
    (To Paula Amanda)
Now then—after that presidential hanky-panky
we’re going to need something X-rated.
I want to see people spank their monkey
till they can’t see straight!
    P