Diamonds and Rust

Well I'll be damned

Here comes your ghost again

But that's not unusual

Now that the moon is full

And you called on the phone

And here I sit

Hand on the telephone

Hearing a voice I'd known

A couple of light years ago

Heading straight for a fall

I remember your eyes

Were bluer than robin's eggs

My poetry was lousy, you said

Where are you calling from?

A booth in the northwest

Ten years ago

I gave you some cufflinks

You brought me something

We both know what memory can bring

It brings diamonds and rust

You burst on the scene

Already a legend

The original phenomenon

The unwashed phenomenon

You strayed into my arms

And there you stayed

Temporarily lost at sea

The Madonna was yours for free

The girl on the half-shell

Would keep you from harm

Now I see you standing

With brown leaves falling

And snow in the air

Now you're standing out the window

Of that crummy hotel

Over Washington Square

Our breath comes out white clouds

Mingles and hangs in the air

Speaking strictly for me

We both could have died then and there

Now you're telling me

You're not nostalgic

But give me another word for it

You who are so good with words

And with keeping things vague

Because I need some of that vagueness now

It all come back too clearly

Yes I once loved you dearly

And we both know what memories bring

They bring diamonds and rust