Late have I loved Thee,
O Beauty so ancient and so new;
late have I loved Thee!
For behold Thou were within me,
and I outside;
and I sought Thee outside
and in my unloveliness
fell upon those lovely things
that Thou hast made.
Thou were with me
and I was not with Thee.
I was kept from Thee by those things,
yet had they not been in Thee,
they would not have been at all.
Thou didst call and cry to me
and 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 do pant for Thee:
I tasted Thee, and now hunger
and thirst for Thee:
Thou didst touch me,
and I have burned for Thy peace.
