Somebody Circled This

Found it wedged under the water heater,

a phone book, 2009.

The pages gone to yellow-brown,

the spine cracked down its line.

Someone had left their handwriting inside—

I found it while I packed to move:

a name in blue ballpoint, circled once,

the ink faded to a groove

around the edges. No note.

Nothing to explain the ring.

The column of names beside it

still intact, still everything

it was in 2009.

I don't know if that name is dead

or just unlisted now. I kept the book.

Set it in a box instead.