Billie’s tears fall like dust nFrom the air into my eyes nSeeping in before they rust nSpilling secrets words can’t hide nI am standing on the bones nOf a mound too high to climb nSelling secrets to atone nFor a song that is not mine nnBillie’s bones are white and bleached nPiled high and hard to reach nAnd the top looks cold and bleak nBut I see farther when I stand nOn Billie’s bones in Billie’s land nnThere’s an orchid in her hair nThere are bruises on her lips nI would worship if I dared nKneeling at her fingertips nI would tell her how I’ve yearned nTo be worthy of the grail nAll these years and all I’ve learned nIs just how brilliantly I fail nnBillie’s bones are white and bleached nPiled high and hard to reach nAnd the top looks cold and bleak nBut I see farther when I stand nOn Billie’s bones in Billie’s land nnNow the flesh of earth has passed nNow the joints have come undone nAll that’s left of her is ash nScattered on the air like crumbs nnThere are voices on the wind nStolen whispers, sacred moans nYou can hear them through your skin nAnd the singing of the bones nWhen the wind blows from the east nI can taste her on my tongue nAnd the grave is lined and paved with nAll the songs we never sung nnBillie’s bones are white and bleached nPiled high and hard to reach nAnd the top looks cold and bleak nBut I see farther when I stand nOn Billie’s bones in Billie’s landn