Carl Dennis published his poem "The God Who Loves You" in his eighth poetry collection, Practical Gods (2001), which won the Pulitzer Prize. Like many of his works, the poem examines philosophical concepts, in this case predetermination and free will—topics that Dennis explored in previous collections such as Ranking the Wishes (1997). In Dennis's trademark style, "The God Who Loves You" also addresses the mundane details of everyday human experience. But in this poem, which is addressed directly to the reader, these details are initially viewed in a negative context, since Dennis poses the idea that the reader could have had a better life by making different choices. This idea sets up a corresponding concept that the reader's faulty choices have made God sad because God loves the reader. And God, through the deity's omnipotence, is forced to see this best possible path that the reader could have taken and thus God mourns the loss of this better life for His creation. Through the paradoxical struggle between predetermination and free will, as well as the discussion of an omnipotent God, the poem ultimately explores the consequences of human actions and addresses the idea of accepting what is in one's life, not what could have been. A copy of the work can be found in Practical Gods, which was published by Penguin Books in 2001.