What will the Westport Transit District do
After their poetry contests have done limericks and haiku?
And don’t forget, they did acrostics
So what is next, in their bag of tricks?
Double dactyls!
This year, Wheels2U — the WTD’s on-demand, group ride, door-to-door service — challenges residents with an 8-line poetic form.
The 4th annual Poetry Contest offers a creative way for people who live or work in Westport to highlight the ease and benefits of the ride-sharing service.
Seven winners will receive gift certificates to their choice of Westport restaurants. The grand prize is $100.
Double dactyl is a rhythmic, humorous poetic form consisting of 2 stanzas of 4 lines each.
- Meter: The first 3 lines of each stanza must follow a DUM-da-da DUM-da-da rhythm. The 4th line of each stanza follows a DUM-da-da DUM rhythm.
- Rhyme: The last line of the 1st stanza must rhyme with the last line of the second stanza.
- Opening: The first line is often a nonsense phrase such as “Higgeldy piggeldy” or “Jiggery pokery”.
- Bonuses: Use “Wheels2U” in the poem; additional bonus if one line in the poem is a single six-syllable word.
Here’s one example:
Higgeldy Piggeldy
Wheels2U Westport is
Ditching the parking lot
Drama and stress.
Unprecedentently
Simple to book a ride,
Join the community’s
Transit success.
Wheels2U, at the Westport train station.
And another:
Jiggery Pokery
Dine at a restaurant
Don’t want to drive after
Having a drink.
Extraordinarily
Safe and reliable,
Home in a jiffy
No need to think.
Karina Betfarhad, Westport Transit District co-director, says, “This contest is a fun way for the community to engage with public transit. We see Wheels2U used by commuters, seniors, families and students every weekday. Poetry captures those moments, while reminding people how easy it is to leave the car at home.”
Jiggery Pokery
Teenagers needing a
Lift to the Library
Or to a field.
Indispensability
Parents can finally
Sit on the sofa and
Legally yield.
In addition to the $100 girt certificate for 1st place, 2 2nd-place winners will receive $50 gift certificates. Four 3rd-place finishers will each get $25 certificates.
Email your poems to wtd.pgold@gmail.com by April 7. Use the subject line “Double Dactyl Contest,” and include your name, address and email. Westport residents and those who visit or work in Westport may enter as often as they like.
Winners will be chosen by Peter Gold and Karina Betfarhad, WTD co-directors, in their sole discretion, with the assistance of librarians and English teachers in the Westport Public Schools.
All entries become the property of the Westport Transit District. Entrants give the WTD permission to use their entries without compensation to promote the operations of the Westport Transit District and Wheels2U Westport, including advertising poster at the Westport and Greens Farms train stations and marketing emails.
Jibberty Jabberty
Uber is pricey and
Taxis are ancient and
Hard to procure.
Economical
Wheels2U’s cheaper, and
Transit efficiency’s
Hard to ignore.
Need background information?
Wheels2U provides door-to-platform shuttle service to the Saugatuck and Greens Farms train stations, plus midday service to the train stations, Library, Senior Center and downtown. Rides can be requested using the Wheels2U app.
- Fares: $2 via the Wheels2U app.
- Hours: Weekdays (commuter): 5:30 to 10:30 a.m.; 4-9:03 p.m.
- Midday: Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
To learn more about Wheels2U, click here. For more about Westport Transit District’s services for the elderly and people with disabilities, click here
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