Start with a stretch and a yawn

Reach high higher

What happened to the

cucumber slices

Muddle together in a mixing glass

Add ice cubes and Kamchatka

Plant in a neighbor's plot and wait

The next time you lose your keys

it's ready to be stirred

You can add bargain soda

to sweep out its dust

Strain into a chilled Solo cup

Twist a cucumber slice over the drink

and drop it in

I've been thinking a lot lately about the deeper significance of the mundane and how seemingly unimportant chores and mistakes may affect one's consciousness after constant repetition. Much of the vocabulary like the brand names and "loss of your keys" in this poem comes from that idea. The other phrases come from cocktail recipes. Recipes tend to take on the imperative tone, which functions well in poetry as it produces action and voice without much strain. Recipes are interesting to work with because they impose a strict process to creating something and expose that something's bare elements. If my life were a cocktail, it would consist of these things.