The core theme of Dennis's poem revolves around whether individuals should live a life guided by predetermination or one centered on free will. If people subscribe to the concept of predetermination, or destiny, then all their choices are already made, and the path they tread is the only one available. In this scenario, the reader's actions are irrelevant because this is the path they are meant to follow. The poem employs language that reflects this notion of destiny, such as references to “the woman you were destined to meet on the other campus.”

However, the poem also explores the idea of free will, where individuals create their own destinies. The first hint of this is when Dennis mentions the reader's “many futures.” If a reader genuinely possesses free will and can make choices leading to various futures, then the concept of destiny is challenged. Ultimately, the poem blends these two ideas. Dennis suggests that while the reader was destined for certain actions, through free will, they have made choices deviating from their destined path, thus forfeiting the best possible life.

To illustrate the impact of a reality where both free will and destiny coexist, Dennis envisions an omnipotent god. In the poem, this god is sorrowful because the reader has not chosen the optimal path.

It's not just God who faces the risk of unhappiness; readers might also feel discontent if they pause to reflect on their current circumstances and compare "what is" to "what could have been." In the poem, potential outcomes include not choosing the ideal career path due to an incorrect college selection. Dennis suggests that if you had attended your second-choice school, you would have encountered "opinions on painting and music" that might have inspired you to live "a life thirty points above the life you’re living." Dennis also delves into how this wrong college decision could affect your chances for marital happiness. He suggests it would be painful to have God "compare your wife" to the woman you were meant to meet. Similarly, Dennis claims that your wife would have found greater happiness with "the man next in line for your wife," who "would have pleased her more than you ever will / even on your best days, when you really try." Indeed, the significant consequences of a major decision like choosing a college worsen as the poem continues. Even small choices can lead to severe outcomes, as Dennis illustrates near the end when he envisions a future where you dash "out in the snow for the morning paper" and catch a chill that ultimately leads to your death.

In the poem, Dennis explores the themes of free will, predetermination, and consequences to examine what it means to find fulfillment in life. If readers were aware that through their own choices they could have opted for a more rewarding path, they might never achieve true fulfillment, as they would constantly mourn the loss of a potentially happier life. Conversely, if someone believes in predetermination and thinks that their life will unfold as it is meant to regardless of their actions, this belief relieves them of the anxiety over "what might have been." Ultimately, Dennis does not endorse either perspective. Rather, he encourages readers to concentrate on "the life you can talk about / With a claim to authority, the life you’ve witnessed." Essentially, he suggests that readers should find fulfillment in the life they have experienced, whether it was fated or self-determined, because, as far as they know, it "is the life you’ve chosen."