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At Muscle Beach in Venice, CA

Swarthy, bear-like, he was known
as Dr. Squat. He never took steroids
but bulked himself up—

5 double cheeseburgers & 6 milkshakes
a night so he could 'have a go'
at weight-lifting.

The young UCLA resident in neurology
could do a front-squat lift, 570 lbs
though his eyes would bulge & he'd worry

about the blood pressure in his head.
On weekends he'd wrap his Nikon F,
a 4 x 5 Linhof & tripod in his sleeping bag,

ride his motorbike all over California
shooting landscapes in a style inspired
by Ansel Adams, but also close-ups

of flowers, moss & lichen. He took photos
of the giant-armed men at Muscle Beach
& developed negatives— in the neuropathy lab.

Bound for New York, he packed a suitcase
with nearly all his Muscle Beach photos.
Lost en route, but someone else snapped:

In San Francisco, Oliver Sacks with beard,
bare legs, setting the California record. 1961.
Full lift. 600 lbs.

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Joan E. Bauer is the author of three full-length poetry collections, Fig Season (Turning Point, 2023), The Camera Artist (Turning Point, 2021), and The Almost Sound of Drowning (Main Street Rag, 2008). Recent work has appeared in Paterson Literary Review, Slipstream and Chiron Review. For some years, she was a teacher and counselor and now divides her time between Venice, CA and Pittsburgh, PA where she co-curates the Hemingway's Summer Poetry Series with Kristofer Collins.