I just read Thomas Hardy's "Nobody Comes" and find the poem very haunting. You can just see this person standing by his or her gate just watching as a car goes by and not one stops in front of the house. The poem is about loneliness, of course, but maybe it is also about living in a rural area with miles and miles between houses and contact with neighbors, or maybe its about becoming old and being left behind by those who are far too busy to come visit. I don't know really; I just know the poem makes you sit and think about this person standing alone by the gate - in the dark night. s hamilton