donjon

a high solid tower
dominates
the public square

at its summit
a watchmen
who with first sight
of fire or attack
bells will boom
loud bells
the pride of the town

wide at its base
the donjon houses
the council chambers

one floor above
archives for the town
one floor below
the prisons

city hall
of old.

[Loosely based on a passage in Life on a Mediaeval Barony by W. S. Davis.]