Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

David Lehman’s "On Purpose" is a reflective poem that explores the nature of purpose, both in poetry and in life. Written in free verse, the poem eschews traditional rhyme and meter, allowing for a conversational, almost stream-of-consciousness style that suits its subject matter. Lehman adopts a voice that is both direct and meandering, mimicking the way thoughts unfold in real time. The poem plays with the idea of purpose in multiple dimensions—poetic, personal, and existential.

The poem opens with a direct and almost ironic question: "What is the purpose of your poems?" By immediately addressing an implied audience, Lehman sets up an atmosphere of dialogue. The speaker, positioned in an eleventh-grade English classroom, takes the question at face value but soon expands its implications beyond poetry itself. The setting—a high school English class—suggests an environment of expectation, where students are conditioned to ask about meaning and purpose, particularly in literature. However, rather than providing a simple or didactic answer, Lehman uses the question as a springboard for broader meditations.

The poem moves fluidly from one thought to another, much like a wandering mind: "I have given a lot of thought to ?purpose? / Walking with a purposeful air in New York City / has obvious benefits in the chill of the night with wind." Here, Lehman juxtaposes abstract reflection with concrete imagery. Walking with purpose in a city like New York is not just metaphorical—it has practical advantages, particularly in the cold. The contrast between existential searching and the immediate realities of urban life underscores the poet’s tendency to locate meaning in the ordinary.

Lehman further explores the structured nature of narrative: "and it’s even better when it’s no bluff / you do know where you’re going / from day to day / and you know when it’s over / so it’s like a story with a beginning middle and end." This passage suggests that life itself mimics the shape of a conventional narrative. Yet, by phrasing it as "so it?s like a story," Lehman introduces an element of doubt—perhaps life does not fit so neatly into a structured framework. The implication is that while we impose purpose on our actions, the meaning of those actions may remain elusive.

The poem takes a darker turn when Lehman references "high school humiliation." Here, purpose becomes less certain—what is the purpose of suffering, of embarrassment, of the arbitrary social dynamics of adolescence? This shift challenges the neatness of the narrative structure suggested earlier. If life is a story, then certain chapters—like teenage misery—seem to lack a discernible reason for existing.

In the concluding lines, Lehman introduces a dreamlike quality: "and when you wake up you will have no recollection / of this encounter in the dark but it will linger nevertheless / and bring refreshment to your soul." This is a fascinating reversal. The present moment—the classroom scene—becomes something ephemeral, something that will be forgotten upon waking, as if life itself is a fleeting dream. Yet, despite being forgotten, the encounter will somehow endure in the subconscious, providing "refreshment to your soul." The word "refreshment" is particularly striking—it suggests renewal, as if even the forgotten moments carry significance.

The poem, in its apparent casualness, engages in a deep inquiry into the meaning we assign to experience. It resists easy conclusions, instead offering an ongoing meditation on whether purpose is something we impose on life, or something inherent within it. By framing this exploration within the context of a high school classroom—a space where students are expected to extract meaning from texts—Lehman subtly critiques our need for definite answers. Ultimately, "On Purpose" suggests that poetry, like life, may not require a singular, fixed purpose to be valuable.

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