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