A couple of weeks ago, I rented a car and drove with some friends to Matka Canyon in Macedonia and Rugova Gorge in Kosovo. It was glorious. Cars are wonderful things.

(Here are bits of a poem I wrote last week)

We shake too much.

That’s our problem.

My breaths

My knees

Your hands

The rental car

 

 

There’s a canyon just outside the city.

“Let’s go” I said.

You wove the car through narrow roads,

following the Macedonian signs.

There was a mosque

(with double minorets!).

You braked so I could take a picture.

 

 

The canyon was cold.

We walked the path along the water’s edge

stopping every few feet to gape at the mountains

“Around one more bend!” we said,

over and over again.

You like to have a destination,

I don’t.

 

 

The rental’s tire was shaky

so we turn back too soon

before we reach the valley,

and before we reach the wild fields that slope out of Kosovo

and roll eventually into Montenegro

 

 

But the canyon is enough for me,

Because it is just cold enough

to make me shake.

 

 

I’m going to be traveling in England and a tiny bit in Paris over the next two weeks! Be sure to follow me on Instagram (@elizabeth_ee) if you want to keep up with my adventures :) Happy holidays and happy travels!

-Eliza