Ode to Better Days ©

Ocean-spanning ships once slid into the Clyde,
As fine a sight as lad or lass espied;
In better and finer times where craftsmen nobly worked
At creative tasks poorly rewarded but never ever shirked.
Ship-building was once the watchword of it's fame,
River Clyde recalled with pride and reveling in that name.
The Clyde needs never ever doubt it's inestimable story
An incalculable tonnage on the scales of naval glory.
Perversely those once vaunted waters may today evince a cringe,
You'll not likely see the launch of much, perhaps the odd syringe.