...when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude...

Here is a sampling of the countless poems, both classic and contemporary, that deal with loneliness, anonymity, and solitary thought. Some, like Robert Lowell's "Skunk Hour" or Walt Whitman's "The Sleepers," describe through autobiographical narrative the voyeuristic wanderings of poets. Others explore the exhilaration of being a human alone in nature, the pain of romantic heartache, or simply describe pensive moments—as is the case in Ted Kooser's poem "Flying at Night":

Above us, stars. Beneath us, constellations.
Five billion miles away, a galaxy dies
like a snowflake falling on water.