There May Be Many

fresh
crabapples border

a wild field tennis balls

months ago
now

their soft bodies block

the trail leaves
and a cat

note my passage


a child runs past
back-

pack and mop-
top bouncing


he gazes
back
at my red cap
assuring
my presence isn't

farce
fig
mental


gray hairs govern

my jaw claiming
innocence fearful

I’m eating Chinese
with friends soon I can’t be certain

there'll be guests


Matthew Schmidt’s poems have been published in PleiadesThe Seattle ReviewHawaii Pacific Review, and elsewhere. He is an associate poetry editor at Fairy Tale Review and the Co-Founding Editor of the Iowa-based literary editing and educational nonprofit 1-Week Critique.