The ocean is a seductive lover, ever changing and never aging:
The first glance makes the heart race
The initial embrace is brash and invigorating

His muscles ripple and break like a dancer's
She wears a string of briny jewels about her neck
His skin flashes from blue steel to turquoise-green
Her blood bubbles with the stuff of life
His sly winks lift all inhibitions and cares
Her scent intoxicates and liberates

The ocean is a careless lover, entertaining countless suitors:
Multitudes fall into her silvery arms
Unlucky ones tumble from her slippery grasp

Her supplicants are guaranteed no succor
He disdains any casual intimacy
She singles out no one
His desire verges on the predatory
She never refuses a proposition
He lulls his intended into an eternal sleep

The ocean is a mighty lover, an endless beat turning stone to sand:
With a powerful and insistent tug
Its hands feel full and heavy

She blows up gales as cruel sport
He refuses to control his temper
She unfurls her rage against the temerity of man
He raises a howling fury from the smallest of insults
She rains down pain upon an unsteady shore
He flays the land and reshapes it to his will

The ocean is a creative lover, forming new life from what it has taken:
Moonwise ways embracing the circle
Always building up after tearing down

His tender caresses soothe a weary mind
She whispers secrets at the close of day
He sings the song of lives gone and yet to come
She dances the dance of the eternal
His life-giving loins are still yet fertile
Her singing sigh ensnares us
We shall return from whence we came

During the summer of 2001, Jon Worley spent one day at Topsail Beach, three days at Wrightsville Beach, five days at Salter Path (down the island from Atlantic Beach) and nine days at Sunset Beach.