THE LONG SEARCH

THE LONG SEARCH
Too late have I loved you .
O Beauty Ever Ancient, Ever New.
Too late I have loved you!
You were within me, but I was outside myself,
and there I sought You!
In my weakness I ran after the beauty
of the things You have made.
You were with me,
and I was not with you.
The things you have made kept me from You-
the things which would have no being
unless they existed in you!
You have called,
You have cried out,
and you have pierced my deafness.
You have radiated forth,
You have shined out brightly,
and You have dispelled my blindness.
You have send forth Your fragrance,
and I breathed it in,
and I long for You.
I have tasted You,
and I hunger and thirst for You.
You have touched me,
and I ardently desire Your peace. Amen.