ما أَوْضَحَ العُذْرَ لي لو أنهم عَذَروا

وأَجْمَلَ الصَّبْرَ بِي لو أنهم صبروا

How clear my excuse would be, if only they would excuse me,

And how beautiful my patience, if only they were patient.

لكنهم صَغُرُوا عن أَزمةٍ كَبُرَتْ

فما اعتذارِيَ عمَّن عُذْرُهُ الصِغَرُ

But they belittled a crisis that had grown large,

So my excuse cannot be for those whose excuse is smallness.