Late Have I Loved You

~ from St. Augustine's Confessions.

 

Late have I loved you,

O Beauty ever ancient,

ever new,

late have I loved you! 

 

You were within me,

but I was outside,

and it was there

that I searched for you. 

 

In my unloveliness

I plunged into the lovely things

which you created. 

You were with me,

but I was not with you. 

 

Created things kept me from you;

yet if they had not been in you

they would not have been at all. 

 

You called,

you shouted,

and you broke through my deafness. 

 

You flashed,

you shone,

and you dispelled my blindness. 

 

You breathed your fragrance on me;

I drew in breath

and now I pant for you. 

I have tasted you,

now I hunger and thirst for more. 

 

You touched me,

and I burned for your peace.