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Document 1495

Love Underground

Author(s): Sheila Templeton

Copyright holder(s): Sheila Templeton

Text

They look like they've been here a long time.
On the underground for sixty years, sharing
a seat 'Appreciated by the Elderly and Infirm.'
Grown pale together, lengthened their limbs
like cranes. He carries her Liz Claiborne bag
tenderly. Puts up his hand to stroke
the sweet crease of her face.
Their heads move in harmony.
Nodding mandarin dolls. Stork legs entwine,
discreetly rubbing ankles. Hands shaking
in a rythym of life long syncopation.
She leans towards him to whisper a secret
and their laughter fills the carriage
as it rattles along towards Hillhead.

This work is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

The SCOTS Project and the University of Glasgow do not necessarily endorse, support or recommend the views expressed in this document.

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Cite this Document

APA Style:

Love Underground. 2025. In The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Retrieved 2 April 2025, from http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1495.

MLA Style:

"Love Underground." The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2025. Web. 2 April 2025. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1495.

Chicago Style

The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech, s.v., "Love Underground," accessed 2 April 2025, http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=1495.

If your style guide prefers a single bibliography entry for this resource, we recommend:

The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. 2025. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk.

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Information about Document 1495

Love Underground

Text

Text audience

General public
Audience size 1000+

Text details

Method of composition Wordprocessed
Year of composition 2006
Word count 95

Text medium

Book
Newspaper
Periodical/journal
Radio

Text publication details

Published
Part of larger text
Contained in Slow Road Home (Sheila Templeton) / Running Threads (Jim Hughes, Rowena M Love, Michael Malone, Sheila Templeton)

Text setting

Leisure/entertainment
Private/personal

Text type

Poem/song/ballad

Author

Author details

Author id 1075
Forenames Sheila
Surname Templeton
Gender Female
Decade of birth 1940
Educational attainment University
Age left school 18
Upbringing/religious beliefs upbringing Protestantism, now Eastern Yoga meditation practice
Occupation Retired Teacher
Place of birth Aberdeen
Region of birth Aberdeen
Birthplace CSD dialect area Abd
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Troon
Region of residence S Ayr
Residence CSD dialect area Ayr
Country of residence Scotland
Father's occupation Railway Engineer / originally farm worker
Father's place of birth Stoneywood
Father's region of birth Aberdeen
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area Abd
Father's country of birth Scotland
Mother's occupation Doctors' Receptionist
Mother's place of birth Dyce
Mother's region of birth Aberdeen
Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area Abd
Mother's country of birth Scotland

Languages

Language Speak Read Write Understand Circumstances
English Yes Yes Yes Yes At work, at home, writing
Scots Yes Yes Yes Yes At home, writing work mainly poetry

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