Sunday, April 4, 2021

It's all come back too clearly (Diamonds and Rust)


Well I'll be damned
Here comes your ghost again
But that's not unusual
It's just that the moon is full
And you happened to call




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

As 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 midwest




Ten years ago
I bought you some cufflinks

You brought me something
we both know what memories can bring

They bring               diamonds and rust




Well you burst on the scene

Already a legend
           The unwashed phenomenon
                                                                                                   The original vagabond
                                   
                           You strayed into my arms
and there you stayed
      Temporarily          lost at sea 

The Madonna was yours for free

Yes the girl on the half-shell       Would keep you 
                         unharmed





Now I see you standing
With brown leaves falling around
And snow in your hair
Now you're smiling 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      Then give me 

another word for it               You who are so good with words        And at keeping things 
vague


Because I need some of that                         vagueness now
It's all come back too clearly                                                                 yes I loved you dearly

And if you're offering me diamonds and rust

I've already paid