bathing with Sylvia Plath

I know them well,
my favorite books,
you can tell
which ones
I favor,
whether poetry or fiction,
biography,
or play,
by how
they've wrinkled and aged,
with sun
and water, steam
from the hot tub,
softening the binding,
each dogeared page.
we bathe well together.
Sylvia and Anne,
Larkin and Strand,
Bukowski.
old salinger goes in,
and updike
and cheever. Henry Miller.
Grace Paley,
wally lamb. ray carver,
there's room
for phillip levine too.
some old
some second or third buys,
and occasionally
I take a dip with someone
new.