The Citadel

“A Citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city.
It may be a fortress, castle, or fortified center.”

That is what Wiki has to say about the word Citadel.

It fits.

This is a portrait of the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown,
on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.

It is both a fortress and a castle of sorts
and certainly the town’s tallest building.

It was built by a ship’s captain in the middle of the 19th century
when the island was sending most of her souls to sea.

The rugged and scrappy stone foundation,
topped with the centuries of whitewashed Yankee clapboard
stands proud and stoically protestant.

Her ancient bubble-glassed window panes
have reflected the sideways glances
of generations of stalwart women and men
who strolled along Main Street
on their way to do important town business.

Inside the citizens gather
they pray, and sing, and argue and mourn
celebrate and wed, listen and learn
from each other.

Gracefully it endures
the core of a town.