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L.A. Metro And SF BART Are Dueling In Weed Poetry On Twitter Because California
It's a summer Friday, so you know what that means: antsy office workers, loosened ties, potential conference room beers—and semi-NSFW Twitter poetry battles between two major transit agencies.
Yes, it's been a little more than a year since the great Metro/BART Haiku Battle of June 2016, and the two agencies' social media teams appear to be at it again. But this time they've thrown the 5-7-5 haiku form by the wayside, and are instead opting for limericks... about weed.
Largely popularized through the Mother Goose nursery rhymes, the limerick is a verse form composed of five lines that adhere to a strict rhyme scheme ( aabba, for anyone who was wondering). The limerick, according to the American Academy of Poets, "is often comical, nonsensical, and sometimes even lewd."
Today's comical, nonsensical, and sometimes even lewd poetry face-off began just before 12:30 p.m., when the wild San Franciscans at BART decided to remind their readers not to get stoned in the transit zone, via popular microblogging platform Twitter. And, for reasons that at first seemed inexplicable, BART felt the need to drag the good people at Metro Los Angeles into it:
To keep things from going amiss
— BART (@SFBART) August 4, 2017
On BART please don't smoke cannabis
It stinks up the train
Maybe you can explain
This best @metrolosangeles
We find both the limerick and the fact that BART is still operating, despite its citizenry's mass exodus to the Tech Bus Dark Side, very cute! But what the heck does this have to do with us in L.A.?
Well, as the renowned literary scholars at The Paris Review Mashable pointed out, @MetroLosAngeles does rhyme with cannabis. Color us legitimately impressed.
More than an hour later (was everyone at an all-staff lunch? An hour is like six months in internet time!) Metro saw fit to reply with a limerick of their own. The home of City Lights Bookstore was unimpressed:
Hmm. 3/10.
— BART (@SFBART) August 4, 2017
Metro took the criticism in stride, and stepped up their game:
Much better. 10/10
— BART (@SFBART) August 4, 2017
Soon, the L.A. Times' transit reporter Laura Nelson was ON IT. But, in a true understanding of the fourth estate's role as a watchdog over the agencies they cover, Nelson also felt the need to point out that Metro's anapests (the metrical feet wherein certain syllables should be stressed) weren't quite up to snuff:
A summer Friday in California: The transit agencies for Los Angeles and San Francisco are having a limerick battle about weed. pic.twitter.com/yozrPCRqdj
— Laura J. Nelson 🦅 (@laura_nelson) August 4, 2017
.@metrolosangeles's anapaests need a bit of work.
— Laura J. Nelson 🦅 (@laura_nelson) August 4, 2017
Other less relevant cities also tried to get involved, but honestly no one cared...
Packed ferry with hours on 80
— VisitVallejo (@VisitVallejo) August 4, 2017
Parking fees & high tolls a plenty
So I hop on a bus
Cause #SolTrans helps us
Bond us to #Bart as a new bestie pic.twitter.com/zHbEKLITZJ
Seattle is smoldering, record heat, BC smoke,
— King County Metro 🚏 🚌🚎⛴🚐 (@kcmetrobus) August 4, 2017
But there's no Route 420 upon which you can toke@SFBART @metrolosangeles
Seriously, bless Metro and BART for their reaction GIFs to Seattle's continued nonsense:
— LA Metro (@metrolosangeles) August 4, 2017
— BART (@SFBART) August 4, 2017
And oh dear God, Canada. O, Canada:
Sorry Jocelyn, this rep is terrible with poetry. Have a nice day. :) ^DM
— TTC Customer Service (@TTChelps) August 4, 2017
Toronto Transit with the most Canadian response of all time. https://t.co/GRoyN8D873
— BART (@SFBART) August 4, 2017
In conclusion, we hope your weekend is even a fraction as good as this final one-two punch from BART:
It's a person who was arrested right after the photo was taken.
— BART (@SFBART) August 4, 2017
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