Billie's Bones - Janis Ian

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\nbillie’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\nthere’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\nbillie’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\nnow 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\nthere 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\nbillie’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