Concession Stand Sonnet

  By Amanda Trout

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First: finicky lock, the slate-grey door

swings open to air-conditioner gales

and the lights of the Coca-Cola fridge

we sold our souls to receive. Next,

flip lights, re-clean dishes until mirrored

surfaces, sanitize. set sugar mix to slush,

bag cotton swirls in cherry red, citrus yellow

and let each floating wisp dye your hair.

End with popcorn kernels laved in butter

whose yellow flowers have only just appeared,

whose smell skips through the air—scrumptious

summoning—and calls customers to us

early. Hear the rattle at the door, past echo

Hello! What can I get started for you?

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Amanda Trout is a Midwestern US poet with a love for sound and form. Her work has been published in Apple in the Dark, Zaum, the Northwind Treasury by Raw Earth Ink, and other publications. Her micro-chapbook, Still Life, was published by Yavanika Press in 2024. Find Amanda on Instagram @atrout2972