Rye

Cinque port where three lone rivers
At a confluence converge
Where ocean once lapped at her walls
Yet now is a distant surge

Where tunnels ferry back and forth
Beneath senescent streets
Tween Mermaid Inn and The Old Bell
Where smugglers once did meet

Where once the lost embayment
Served the King and this country
With harbour docking merchant boats
Back in antiquity

And now where history lingers for
All those who come on by
This celebrated ancient port
That goes by the name of Rye

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