Charles Fort - The Harbour and the Stone

Above Kinsale in evening light,
Where harbour waters shine,
The old walls hold the western wind
And keep their patient line.

At Summer Cove the ramparts rise,
Star-shaped over sea,
Charles Fort watches Kinsale Harbour,
Stone above the quay.

Built for cannon, tide and warning,
Under Charles's name,
It learned the weight of wind and years,
Of salt and cloud and flame.

Not every wall is shouting,
Not every stone is scarred;
Some keep watch in silence
And make the memory hard.

Charles Fort, Charles Fort, harbour and stone,
Standing by the water,
Weathered and alone.
Charles Fort, Charles Fort, under Kinsale sky,
The sea wind moves through old walls
And the years go passing by.

Robinson drew the lines of strength,
Wide bastions facing foam,
While James Fort kept the other shore
Across the harbour home.

Five arms held the seaward watch,
Flagstaff, Charles and North,
Kinsale light and Cockpit stone
Looking outward, looking forth.

Charles Fort, Charles Fort, harbour and stone,
Standing by the water,
Weathered and alone.
Charles Fort, Charles Fort, under Kinsale sky,
The sea wind moves through old walls
And the years go passing by.

Thirteen days the thunder circled,
High ground, smoke and rain,
Yet after every broken season
The harbour breathed again.

Garrison years and civil fire
Left their marks in stone,
But morning still returns to Kinsale,
Soft on wall and bone.

Let history stand clearly,
Let grief be spoken low;
No song should turn old suffering
Into a marching show.

For every hand that shaped the wall,
For every watch once kept,
The harbour holds a quieter truth
Where time and water slept.

Now visitors walk the ramparts,
Past the grass and weathered stair,
Looking out to James Fort's shadow
And the boats in harbour air.

For Charles Fort is more than battle,
More than names in stone;
It is harbour, wind and watching,
Kinsale's memory standing alone.

Charles Fort, Charles Fort, harbour and stone,
Standing by the water,
Weathered and alone.
Charles Fort, Charles Fort, under Kinsale sky,
The sea wind moves through old walls
And the years go passing by.

Charles Fort, Charles Fort, where the waters gleam,
Keep the harbour memory
Like a lantern in a dream.

Harbour and rampart, wind and rain,
Kinsale calls the light again.
Stone and water, sky and foam,
Charles Fort keeps the old road home.

By the harbour and the stone,
Charles Fort keeps the song.