Si tu dois partir ...

I turn the pages of this atlas my dad gave me -

I can read my name, written in his clear beloved handwriting on the inside front cover- 

Christopher Bradey -

45 Palmyra Road, Elson, Gosport, Hants, 1966 - 

I was fourteen years old, a whisper of bone - 

My smooth skin barely hiding my ribs - 

I wanted to be an explorer - 

Even the names of English cities were strange to me -

I'd gaze at the shape of lochs -

Trace the course of a river - 

I'd look at these maps with a racing heart -

My pure bed my world - 

I'm looking now at my favourite map - 

The Isle of Skye - 

Uig Bay - 

I've been to Uig -

I sat in the cafe near the harbour wall - 

We listened to Fairport Convention on the grimy jukebox -

Sandy Denny singing - 

Si tu dois partir -

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

Dorset