“BAKHBOOKH”
Translated by : Dr. Shihab M. Ghanem
(To my granddaughter Hanouf)
I centered the coin on my left palm
And blew on it
Then put on top my other palm
And said to her : “Say bakhbookh !”
She said: “Bah booh”
I opened my hands
Where is the coin? ..Where?..
It vanished in a wink..
She laughed .. and her astonishment gleamed in her eyes
She was – may God protect her – less than two years old.
And our blown coin vanished
She went to bring her big doll,
with the velvet dress..
She put it in my hands and said : “Bah booh”
I said manuvering in a hoarse voice :
” This doll is too beautiful to be made disappear,
O soul of my soul !”
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* Bakhbookh is a word used in some Arab countries in a make-believe game of making things vanish, like abracadabra
