"next to of course god america i"

"next to of course god america i

love you land of the pilgrims' and so forth oh" (1-2).

In "next to of course god america i" by e.e. cummings, I really had to wonder if I prefer this style with no punctuation versus Emily Dickinson's idea of capitalizing every noun.  Judging by the quotation marks and last line, I conclude that this entire poem was originally spoken.  I believe that this poem has verbal irony.  When I read it, I kept getting caught up on all of the clauses that could either end the thought or start a new one, but when I read it out loud, my natural inclination told me when to place the commas or break up the flow of the poem.

The speaker creates an overall excitement and love of America in the first line when he - Let's act like it's a guy - blatantly compares his love for America being second only to God.

List of what he loves -

1. God
2. America

This love starts out as merely a list of cliches, but as the speaker goes on, there is a clear shift (Thank you to question number 3).  This shift from "thy" to "your" (line 7) shows that the love is eternal.  While the men who drafted the Constitution would have said "thy," we today still have liberty.  After this realization, the speaker tells of why patriotism survived.  The speaker ends with a rhetorical question to power in the idea that liberty will never die.  I believe this poem is in such an odd style of no punctuation merely because it was spoken and has multiple interpretations when read or heard (ambiguity) and because it was spoken in a hurry - as though something bad had just happened.

P.S.  I hope that you enjoy my new look on the blog.  I think the joke I found spelled alliteration wrong!  I will change it either every quarter or every unit based on how lazy I am... Let's just assume it will be quarterly.