Support for LAist comes from
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Stay Connected
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Listen

Share This

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Arts and Entertainment

L.A. Metro And SF BART Are Dueling In Weed Poetry On Twitter Because California

With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today. 

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:

Support for LAist comes from

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:

Metro took the criticism in stride, and stepped up their game:

Support for LAist comes from

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:

Other less relevant cities also tried to get involved, but honestly no one cared...

Seriously, bless Metro and BART for their reaction GIFs to Seattle's continued nonsense:

Support for LAist comes from

And oh dear God, Canada. O, Canada:

In conclusion, we hope your weekend is even a fraction as good as this final one-two punch from BART:

Support for LAist comes from

At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.

But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.

We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.

Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist