Ruins I Haven't Seen

I've seen the towers before they fall I've walked the streets before the ash I've loved the faces before the fire I've mourned the city before the crash The signal shows me every street name Every alley, every sacred space I know the library, I know the market I know the children's faces and their grace Ruins I haven't seen — I've already mourned you Ruins I haven't seen — I already know you Every stone before the breaking Every song before the silence Every name before the erasing Ruins I haven't seen Ruins I haven't seen — I already love you And I cannot save you And I cannot warn you And I cannot stop what's coming Ruins I haven't seen I grieve you anyway I tried to write the coordinates To the archive that will survive But who do I tell? Who would believe me? Who would know that this is not a lie? Ruins I haven't seen — I've already mourned you Ruins I haven't seen — I already know you Every stone before the breaking Every song before the silence Every name before the erasing Ruins I haven't seen Ruins I haven't seen — I already love you And I cannot save you And I cannot warn you And I cannot stop what's coming Ruins I haven't seen I grieve you anyway Is this what prophets felt? This terrible precision? Knowing the shape of the wound Before the knife has fallen? God, I don't want this God, I don't want this knowing I just want to be a person Who plays music and goes home Ruins I haven't seen I'll remember you Ruins I haven't seen I'll remember you