Nine Haikus

For eleven years, Muni Diaries, the much loved podcast and blog has shared tales about San Francisco life told through stories about riding Muni. They have hosted many live shows bringing storytellers, comedians, muni operators to the stage to share their experiences. A long running feature of these shows is the Muni Haiku Battle, a face off between two poets judged by members of the audience.

For the Muni Diaries Live on April 6th 2019, at the Rickshaw Stop, the then-reigning haiku champion, stand up comic and writer Alexandria Love faced off against the Bay City Beacon’s own Muni Poet Mc Allen in a three round bout for an inflatable crown. It was an incredibly close contest, and in the end Mc managed to clinch victory by a single vote.

These are the nine Muni Haikus Mc performed with at the show.

Mc Allen performing at the Muni Diaries Live Haiku Battle. Credit: Right Angle Images

Muni Haikus

This nineteen bus

Went out of service again

Stop barfing in there

Market Street Railway

Dreamy cream green streamliner

Embarcadero

Ocean Beach in June

Waiting for the twenty three

My ass is frozen

Mission red carpet

Fourteen is so much faster

Fuck your parking spot

Unhoused family

Sharing the back bench all night

Their baby is safe

Streetcars have a bell:

“Ding ding, ding ding!” And a horn:

“Move, Motherfucker!”

Escalator broke

in Civic Center and every

elevator reeks

J Lurch, K Lied

L Terri-ble and N Judas

M Motion-less, T turd.