The story bends north long before I arrive,
a woman carrying four children
as far from harm as she can manage,
finding Thurso at the edge of what’s possible.
My dad grows up in that far light,
learns the sea’s voice, leaves when work demands it.
Years later, I come for my own reasons,
thinking I’m starting from somewhere else,
and feel the place recognise me anyway,
as if the path back was laid down
long before I knew to follow it.