Am Bogsa-Litrichean by Meg Bateman | Scottish Poetry Library

Dh’fhan mo litir ris a’ phosta,
oidhche Shathairne, oidhche Dhòmhnaich,
ràinig i Dùn Èideann, chaidh a fosgladh,
sheas i greiseag air a’ phiàna;

Ach tha mo chridhe fhathast
mar am bogsa-litrichean tron oidhche –
crò-dhearg, do-fhaicsinneach,
làn fios nach gabh lìbhrigeadh.

Meg Bateman, ‘Am Bogsa-Litrichean / The Pillar-Box’ from Soirbheas (Polygon, 2007), by permission of the publisher

The Pillar-Box

My card waited for the postman,
Saturday night, Sunday night,
arrived in Edinburgh, was opened,
stood a while on the piano;

But my heart is still
like the pillar-box through the night –
unseen, red-raw,
full of undeliverable messages.

Source: Meg Bateman, ‘Am Bogsa-Litrichean / The Pillar-Box’ from Soirbheas (Polygon, 2007), by permission of the publisher

This poem is one of the 8 printed on poem cards and distributed to libraries and participating schools across Scotland for National Poetry Day 2016.