Introduction

"The Bath" is a poem from Gary Snyder's Pulitzer Prize-winning book Turtle Island (1975). The title refers to a Native American legend that describes North America as "Turtle Island," reflecting Snyder's vision for humans to live in harmony with the Earth and all its creatures.

In "The Bath," Snyder meditates on the intimacy of familial love while sharing a bath with his wife, Masa Uehara, and their son, Kai. Set in the foothills of California's Sierra Nevada mountains, where Snyder and his family lived at the time, the poem uses sensory-rich descriptions to celebrate the deep connection between family and nature. Through these intimate moments, Snyder explores the interconnectedness of the human body with the ecological body of Mother Nature, portraying the joy of family life and the unity of existence.

Poem Summary

The poem begins with Snyder bathing his older son, Kai, in a sauna. Outside the sauna window, a kerosene lantern illuminates the bathing scene, an iron stove, and the washtub. The air fills with steam as Snyder pours water on hot rocks.

Kai stands in the warm water covered in soap; his young eyes beg his father not to wash his hair. As Snyder thoroughly washes his son's body, Kai gets an innocent erection from the pleasure of being touched. He laughs and waves his arms around. Snyder, squatting naked next to his son, feels a sense of intimate unity with Kai and asks the question, "is this our body?"

Kai and Snyder are sweating in the bath when Masa opens the sauna door, letting in a refreshing wind of cold air. With her long hair falling to one side of her body, Masa kneels to wash Kai's hair against his wishes.

Snyder admires the curve of Masa's spine, like a "winding valley," and reaches between her legs to wash her vulva. He marvels at the female body, referring to Masa's vulva as "The gates of Awe," and again sings the refrain, "is this our body?"

Snyder reflects on the fertility of Masa's womb and meditates on how she produced milk in her body, which provided Kai sustenance when he was younger. All three begin to wash one another, and Snyder changes his chant-like meditation to a confirmation, "this is our body." Instead of questioning the unity of their bodies, he now knows how they are connected.

In the next stanza, Snyder describes the intimacy of life being carried on through sexual intercourse with Masa. He sees a sweet innocence in Kai's lack of fertility at his young age and ruminates on how Kai emerged from Masa's body. Again, Snyder chants, "this is our body."

After bathing, the three of them lay on the redwood benches inside the sauna. The hot stove hisses, the fire crackles, and the scent of warmed cedar wood fills the air. Snyder thinks about his younger son, Gen, napping in the house. He contemplates the interconnectedness of love for his family and love for the earth as clouds move across the sky, wind blows through pine trees, and water gurgles from the swampy nearby meadow.

The fire still burns in the sauna as water boils on the stove. Masa, Kai, and Snyder step outside to a night sky filled with stars and rinse off with cold water before they enter the house. Inside, Gen yells, excited to see his family.

They all sit by a fire in the center of the house to drink water and warm up. Snyder basks in sharing the "Great Earth" with his family, as they all begin to laugh.