"The Bath" by Gary Snyder

"The Bath"  really caught my attention this week because it was interesting to see how the narrorator(Snyder) found so many different connections while doing something so simple like giving his son a bath.  He describes the entire baby's body from head to toe asking himself the question "Is this our body" (Line 20)  He describes the joy and curiosity that he is experinecing as he sees the joy in his son's face as he washes him and the discomfort he feels when he accidently gets soap in his baby's eyes.  I also thought it was interesting how he connected the pleasure he feels when he sees his wife to the pleasure that his son felt when he saw his mom.  As infants we all are nurtured by our mothers and one way is through breast feeding.  Babies survive on the nutrients they recieve through the milk and interestingly enough Snyder made the connection that as men their is still this pleasure that exists in a different way.  It's as if with baby boys their is this onging want and need for the female body and that is exactly what Snyder sees and describes with this particular poem.