THE ROUND I FOUGHT FOR YOU

We see things in our lifetime which we seldom can forget.
Scenes which were enacted by someone we have hardly met.
They come before our vision for a fleeting hour or two
Then leave us with a memory, we cherish all life through.
I recall one sacred incident I was privileged to see
And the memory of it will remain all my life with me.

It was in a hospital at Meinnegan in the white hot flames of war.
I was stationed there a month or two, and this is what I saw.
They carried him in tenderly and laid him on the bed.
He was swathed in first-aid bandages and stained an ominous red.
His eyes were dimmed with agony, he bit his lips to hide
And they placed his few belongings on the floor just at his side.

He beckoned to me slowly to come nearer to his bed
As I stopped to hear more clearly whatever might be said.
He gasped with pain, and whispered, "In my haversack, old man
Is my fiancee's photograph. Please find it if you can."
I did as was requested and can admit without shame
That a little glimpse of heaven lay encircled in that frame.

I handed him her photograph, he thanked me with a smile
And closed his eyes for just a little while.
Then I thought I was intruding and made as if to go
But he whispered to me, slowly, soft and low.

"The dreams we two had woven were dreams beyond compare.
In a forest glade one evening with the stars caught in her hair.
But how were we to ever know that the paradise we sought
Would be beyond our earthly reach and our dreams all come to nought.

Jus tell her then, old pal of mine, when you leave this man-made hell
That her loyalness eternally in my waning heart shall dwell."
Then with his lips pressed to her picture ere his soul sped through the blue
He whispered softly, "Sweetheart, this round I fought for you."