A Collection of PoetryZbirka poezije

Letters U
Didn't
Receive

by Sofi Vidić

"I'm sending you these letters you are not receiving
I'm sending you the ink, closed in papers and envelopes
Tortured with my blood and written by my tears"

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The PoetPjesnikinja

A voice born
in daydreams
and wildernessGlas rođen
u sanjarenju
i divljini

Sofi Vidić grew up in a village near Podgorica, Montenegro, spending her childhood immersed in nature, inventing stories, and weaving poems. She is fourteen years old. This is her first published collection. Sofi Vidić je odrasla u selu pored Podgorice, provodeći djetinjstvo okružena prirodom, izmišljajući priče i pišući pjesme. Ima četrnaest godina. Ovo je njena prva objavljena zbirka.

For Sofi, art is a way of translating feelings onto paper or canvas — emotions that resist ordinary language. She paints, writes, and designs handmade jewellery. Her mastery of English, the language of this collection, was recognised at the international HIPPO English Language Olympiad, where she placed 3rd in May 2025. Za Sofi, umjetnost je način prevođenja osjećanja na papir ili platno — emocija koje odolijevaju običnom jeziku. Slika, piše i pravi ručno rađeni nakit. Njeno vladanje engleskim jezikom, jezikom ove zbirke, prepoznato je na međunarodnoj olimpijadi engleskog jezika HIPPO, gdje je osvojila 3. mjesto u maju 2025.

67 PoemsPjesama
14 Years oldGodina
2025 PublishedObjavljeno
Sofi Vidić
The PurposeSvrha

Why This Book ExistsZašto ova knjiga postoji

Art can do what silence cannot. This collection was born from the belief that expressing pain through creativity is an act of courage — and that one young voice, honest enough to bleed onto the page, might reach another young person who feels unseen. Umjetnost može ono što tišina ne može. Ova zbirka je nastala iz uvjerenja da je izražavanje bola kroz kreativnost čin hrabrosti — i da jedan mladi glas, dovoljno iskren da prokrvari na stranici, može doprijeti do drugog mladog čovjeka koji se osjeća nevidljivim.

"

This book of poetry was written last year as part of my therapy while I was being treated for an anxiety disorder. It wasn't easy, but it finally passed. Now I'm doing much better and looking forward to new challenges. Ova zbirka poezije je napisana prošle godine kao dio moje terapije dok sam se liječila od anksioznog poremećaja. Nije bilo lako, ali na kraju je prošlo. Sada mi je mnogo bolje i radujem se novim izazovima.

— Sofi

A letter toPismo za

Dear Sofi,Draga Sofi,

The past is behind you, gifted and preserved in your poems. It no longer holds control over your thoughts or your actions — instead, it points toward a positive direction, for you and for others.

You have shown that expressing yourself through art allows you to understand your own struggles and communicate them in a creative, powerful way.

Continue to accept yourself as you are. Continue to be brave. Stand up for what matters to you.

Thank you.

Prošlost je iza tebe, darovito zabilježena u tvojim poemama, nema više kontrolu nad tvojim mislima i ponašanjem, već daje pozitivni smjer kojim treba da se ide, tebi i drugima.

Pokazala si da izražavanje kroz umjetnost omogućava shvatanje sopstvenog problema i komunikaciju o problemu na kreativan način.

Nastavi da prihvataš sebe takvu kakva jesi. Nastavi da budeš hrabra. Zauzimaj se za sebe u onome što je tebi važno.

Hvala ti.

A letter toPismo za

Dear young reader,Dragi mladi čitaoče/čiteljko,

Every person can experience psychological distress — but that does not mean you are alone. Many of the feelings Sofi writes about are felt by teenagers everywhere: exhaustion, numbness, the sense that no one hears.

Trained professionals can help through conversation and therapy. In that process, you will actively work on understanding your own behaviour and emotions, changing what holds you back.

If something in these pages feels familiar, please know: recovery is possible. You are not your diagnosis. You are so much more.

Svaka osoba može da doživi psihičku uznemirenost ili kratkotrajne tegobe — ali to ne znači da si sama. Mnoga osjećanja o kojima Sofi piše poznata su tinejdžerima svuda: iscrpljenost, utrnulost, osjećaj da niko ne sluša.

Obučeni stručnjaci mogu da pomognu razgovorom — psihoterapijom. U tom procesu, aktivno ćeš raditi na razumijevanju svog ponašanja i emocija, mijenjajući ono što te ometa.

Ako se nešto na ovim stranicama čini poznato, znaj: oporavak je moguć. Ti nisi tvoja dijagnoza. Ti si mnogo više od toga.

A letter toPismo za

Dear parents,Dragi roditelji,

Your child's painful feelings are real. Do not minimise their problem when they speak. Listen more, talk less. Try to understand.

Pay attention to changes in behaviour and mood: withdrawal from friendships, loss of interest, sleep disturbances, a drop in self-confidence, or expressions of hopelessness.

Show love, acceptance and support — especially when your child is struggling. Your presence can accelerate their healing. If problems become more pronounced, seek professional support without delay.

Bolna osjećanja vašeg djeteta su stvarna. Ne umanjujte djetetov problem kada vam govori kako se osjeća. Manje pričajte, više slušajte. Trudite se da razumijete.

Obratite pažnju na promjene u ponašanju i raspoloženju: povlačenje od prijatelja, gubitak interesovanja, poremećaj sna, pad samopouzdanja ili osjećaj beznađa.

Pokažite ljubav, prihvatanje i podršku — posebno kada vaše dijete prolazi kroz teškoće. Vaše prisustvo može ubrzati oporavak. Ako se problemi pojačaju, odmah potražite stručnu pomoć.

Recognising the SignsPrepoznavanje znakova

Common signals of mental distress in teenagers — from the book's forewordUobičajeni znakovi psihičke uznemirenosti kod tinejdžera — iz predgovora knjige

🌑

MoodRaspoloženje

Persistent sadness, irritability, tearfulness, or a prolonged absence of joy and pleasure in daily life.Dugotrajna tuga, razdražljivost, plačljivost ili odsustvo radosti i zadovoljstva u svakodnevnom životu.

🌀

AnxietyAnksioznost

Overwhelming fear, constant tension, panic attacks, or obsessive thoughts that cannot be controlled.Preplavljujući strah, stalna napetost, napadi panike ili opsesivne misli koje se ne mogu kontrolisati.

🪞

Self-worthSamopouzdanje

Declining confidence, self-blame, feelings of shame, worthlessness, or deep hopelessness about the future.Pad samopouzdanja, samookrivljivanje, osjećaj stida, bezvrijednosti ili dubokog beznađa.

🌿

WithdrawalPovlačenje

Pulling away from friends, family and activities they once loved. Increasing isolation and silence.Udaljavanje od prijatelja, porodice i aktivnosti koje su nekada voljeli. Sve veća izolacija i tišina.

📚

SchoolŠkola

Loss of motivation, difficulty concentrating, frequent absences, and a noticeable drop in academic performance.Gubitak motivacije, poteškoće s koncentracijom, česti izostanci i vidljiv pad školskog uspjeha.

🌙

Sleep & BodySan i tijelo

Insomnia or excessive sleeping, changes in appetite, unexplained physical pain, or neglect of personal care.Nesanica ili prekomjerno spavanje, promjene apetita, neobjašnjivi fizički bolovi ili zanemarivanje lične higijene.

⚡

BehaviourPonašanje

Impulsive or destructive actions, aggression, risk-taking, or self-harming behaviours and thoughts.Impulzivna ili destruktivna ponašanja, agresija, rizično ponašanje ili samopovređivanje.

💬

Reach OutPotraži pomoć

If you recognise any of these signs — in yourself or someone you love — please talk to a trusted adult or professional.Ako prepoznaješ neki od ovih znakova — kod sebe ili nekoga koga voliš — razgovaraj s odraslom osobom od povjerenja ili stručnjakom.

"The number of children seeking help for psychological distress is growing. One thing is certain: people with mental disorders can recover — with timely support and the right kind of care." "Broj djece koja traže pomoć zbog psihičkih tegoba raste. Jedno je sigurno: osobe s mentalnim poremećajima mogu da se funkcionalno oporave — uz pravovremenu i odgovarajuću podršku."

From the ForewordIz predgovora

Letters U Didn't Receive, 2025

Dijana Popović-Gavranović

The WorkRadovi

Selected PoemsOdabrane pjesme

41
Breath one breath two
In and out
You see it, you see the mud
You have noticed, but oh, you didn't catch
The signs, clear as morals
So clear, the scars bloody

I'm sending you these letters you are not receiving
I'm sending you the ink, closed in papers and envelopes
Tortured with my blood and written by my tears
And here I am again
Sending you letters you are not receiving
67
Poets are supposed to be mad
I'm not mad
I'm silenced
13
You call me breathtaking
but you give me all my air
10
'loving you is like breathing'

But sometimes it is like
breathing underwater
52
Sometimes I feel like the world
is on my shoulders

And then I remember
it's just another Tuesday
66
All my thoughts are you,
that's why my poems
are so beautiful
63
But isn't it weird, how one moment you are floating around the world, and the next one you are drowning in it
55
Nothing stays buried
Not even the dirt
49
Beauty is rather felt
than seen
3
Once I used to be divine
Now I'm just an evidence of crime
7
My writings are fainting
They are already pale
16
The tortured skin
Silver lining
Star dust on their skin
Silver in their hair all around the planet
Heavy rain, washes out the pain
Star dust stays
Lingers on the past
And their sensitivity lasts
Always here to create
9
Sand gets eaten, but the wind doesn't stop
Who leaves the days on the page
Where have you gone, my trusting blade
My spine has been cracking from lacking of the weight
My calmness is driving me insane
I don't know how to be untangled mess
They only burned the innocent
So I'm safe on my own
In my demolished and silent house
Full of strange colours, dropped by me
Who is this?
Who is typing?
36
All clothes fit me like my own skin
I feel like I'm drowning in them
39
This pressure is about to crush my spine
42
Lovely the blush of the hidden rose
Who would guess, she found her thorn
Lovely, slowly fall onto the ground
Fade under who I am never going to become
And put up, with closed doors with lost keys
The person who survived has me living
Rise up, under the water
Through the air flies the feeling lost
Two people, who are scared to grow together
And who would say the rose
Who would guess, she found her thorn
43
I can only form the words about how this feeling
will never be captured
45
I suppose it's pointless to stare at the dark
when that is all I see,
even with lights on
46
Blonde
Blonde brunette crying
I space into character
To share the suffering
Maybe she feels that way too
Maybe I'm not the only one
that is scared to tell the truth
47
We have never been the same
But it was always like we have come
out of the same mold
50
I am repellent
And you still hold my dreadful fingers
As our demons dance
40
The layers of this love
Lay deep in between my skin
Inside my heart and on my words
They slide through the time, and fall with rain
I have never felt this way before
Like one antenna is enough for you to rush through my thoughts
It swings with clouds, the depth of this love
Follows me through poets and vows
This falling feels so fast, like dropping from the airplane
It's the golden rush, golden way of smiling
It can't be only me, right?
On this earth that feels this way,
like nothing is worth lying
59
Tear that slipped down his cheek
as he sat on the piano
Sounded like his heart
Rolling right down into magic and wonders
Of a musician that doesn't know
how to be alive
60
Thousands of dim
Galaxy shatters beneath them
Thousand thousand
My eyes still flicker by the shine
Same light different day
I still look up to the majestic stars
More, doesn't mean less special
65
The world melts away under the tears of the weather
And I wish I could make the world look just a little better
Under beauty of the moon
And every poem leads me back to you
Even when my words are bleeding, you are tapping the wounds
And all my words somehow fell for you
58
It seems Impossible
For a second to crush
Something so delicate
To break the breakable
The beauty is rough
And the pain is delicate
61
As might as voices be so loud
and eyes bawled so silent,
I may choose the path I want
for worth of being who I have always wanted
64
Every page of my diary whispers your name
You will linger on these papers longer than the planet
You are in this ink, your soul is decoded and interpreted,
written down in my pasted thoughts
The way you move, and feel the words
where no human being can be felt,
is all I've never forgotten
The words are there, still, motions and phases,
names and nicknames
All in time stuck on single page
Months in 30 thousand words
That are yet to become, stronger and less blur
The ArtistUmjetnica

Her ArtNjene slike

PaintingsSlike

Sofi Vidić — painting
Mixed media

Book IllustrationsIlustracije iz knjige

All illustrations in Letters U Didn't Receive were drawn by Sofi herselfSve ilustracije u knjizi Letters U Didn't Receive nacrtala je sama Sofi

Illustration — headless figure

The Body

Illustration — girl looking up at bubbles

And it gets draining sometimes

Illustration — haunted house

The Haunted House

Illustration — strawberries and face

Someone planted strawberries in my cheeks

Illustration — silhouette in arch

Tiny in this big world

Illustration — crying girl

Blonde brunette crying

Illustration — shovel in words

This pressure is about to crush my spine

Illustration — cup

The Cup

Illustration — Sofi waving

The Author

Letters U Didn't Receive — Sofi Vidić

The BookKnjiga

Sixty-seven poems written in English by a fourteen-year-old poet from Montenegro. Honest, raw, and lyrical — a debut collection that speaks where silence fails.Šezdeset i sedam pjesama napisanih na engleskom jeziku od strane četrnaestogodišnje pjesnikinje iz Crne Gore. Iskrena, sirova i lirska — debitantska zbirka koja progovara tamo gdje tišina zakaže.

PublisherIzdavač

Džep sa tajnama

YearGodina

November 2025

LanguageJezik

English

IllustrationsIlustracije

Sofi Vidić

With Gratitude Sa zahvalnošću

This book would not exist without the people who saw Sofi clearly — and believed in her. Ova knjiga ne bi postojala bez ljudi koji su jasno vidjeli Sofi — i vjerovali u nju.

✦

English Teacher Profesorica engleskog

Olivija Drinčić

For nurturing the language that gave these poems their voice, and for recognising the poet long before the book. Za njegovanje jezika koji je dao glas ovim pjesmama, i za prepoznavanje pjesnikinje mnogo prije nego što je nastala knjiga.

✦

Psychotherapist Psihoterapeutkinja

Dijana Gavranić Vučinić

For holding space for Sofi's pain, and for understanding that art and healing are not so different — both begin with honesty. Za čuvanje prostora za Sofininu bol, i za razumijevanje da se umjetnost i ozdravljenje ne razlikuju mnogo — oboje počinju iskrenošću.

✦

Poet & Publisher Pjesnik i izdavač

Momčilo Zeko Zeković

For letting this book become part of the magic of Džep sa tajnama — and for believing that a fourteen-year-old's voice deserved a place in the world. Za to što je pustio ovu knjigu da postane dio magije Džepa sa tajnama — i što je vjerovao da glas jedne četrnaestogodišnjakinje zaslužuje svoje mjesto u svijetu.

Get in touchKontakt

Say HelloPozdrav Sofi

For inquiries about the book, collaborations, or just to share how her words made you feel — Sofi would love to hear from you.Za upite o knjizi, saradnji, ili da podijeliš kako su te njene riječi dotakle — Sofi bi rado čula od tebe.

sofi.vidic@gmail.com