O Beauty, so ancient...and so new

Late have I loved Thee, O Beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved Thee!
And behold, Thou wert within and I was without.
I was looking for Thee out there,
and I threw myself, deformed as I was, upon those well-formed things which Thou hast made.
Thou wert with me, yet I was not with Thee.
These things held me far from Thee, things which would not have existed had they not been in Thee. Thou didst call and cry out and burst in upon my deafness;
Thou didst shine forth Thy fragrance,
and I drew in my breath and now I pant for Thee;
I have tasted, and now I hunger and thirst;
Thou didst touch me, and I was inflamed with desire for Thy peace.
-St. Augustine