Selected Work of St. Augustine

Late Have I Loved You

Late have I loved You
O beauty every ancient, ever new!
Late have I loved You
And behold,
You were within; and I without,
and without I sought You.
And deformed I ran after these forms
of beauty You have made.

You were with me
And I was not with You.
Those things held me back from You,
things whose only being
was to be in You.

You called; You cried;
and You broke through my deafness.
You flashed; You shone;
and you chased away my blindness.
You became fragrant;
and I inhaled and sighed for You.

I tasted
and now hunger and thirst
for You.

You touched me;
and I burned for Your embrace.

~St. Augustine

Wonder...

People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, 
at the huge waves of the sea,
at the long courses of rivers, 
at the vast compass of the ocean,
at the circular motion of the stars;
And they pass by themselves without wondering.

~St. Augustine

Poetry Index