"All American Sestina"

"All-American Sestina" by Florence Cassen Mayers

The "All-American Sestina" brings to light the materialism and consumerism of the American Dream and all that is associated with it. The form of the sestina highlights the numbers one to six, emphasizing the quantity, not quality, of All-American ideals. Americans value the biggest and the best of everything, from a "two pound lobster" to a "two- car garage."

However, American is "one nation, indivisible." Perhaps Mayers comments on the unity of the American people under the banner of these ideals, no matter the ethical standing of the ideals. The victorious tone of lines such as "three cheers" and "five-star general" reveal the idea that Americans are some sort of a master race, the best and the brightest. One might notice, however, that none of the listed words have a negative tone. Mayers could certainly have written the sestina with a negative view of America.

Mixed in with the modern facets of America, the "six-pack Bud" and the "five-karat diamond," are the old ideas associated with the young America: the lines "one-room schoolhouse," "four score and seven years ago, and "one-horse town." These images are inexpensive and seemingly archaic, however they represent the glory of America even better than do a "two-car garage" and "two tone Chevy."