A Prayer of Augustine

Late have I loved Thee, O Beauty so ancient and so new;
late have I loved Thee. For behold Thou wert within me,
and I outside,
and I sought Thee outside and in my unloveliness
fell upon those lovely things that Thou hast made.

Thou wert with me, but I was not with Thee.
I was kept from Thee by those things, Yet if they
had not been in Thee, they would not have been at all.

Thou didst call and cry to me to break open
my deafness: and Thou didst send forth thy beams and
shine upon me and chase away my blindness

Thou didst breathe fragrance upon me,
and I drew in my breath and now pant for Thee.
I tasted Thee, and now hunger and thirst for Thee.
Thou didst touch me
and I have burned for Thy peace.

Oxford book of prayers, Ed. George Appleton