The world came into black and white,
not like a movie, but the way a dog saw it:

low to the ground, up the ass,
running with no purpose/filled with the urge to find myself
somewhere in the zig-zag path of movement

my head bobbing incessantly,
my tongue catching the taste of petrol in the air

slowly, I let the emotions bathe me,
scrubbing away all feeling

I wake up in the water, lukewarm. 

Bibinaz Nami (she/her) is a freshman at UCLA and a co-founder of the literary youth organization The Imperfect Poets, where she plays a pivotal role in creating accessible literary programming for youth in California’s Inland Empire. Recognized by Riverside County for her poetry, she won the 2023 If I Speak Will You Listen spoken word competition and serves as the county’s Teen Poet Laureate for the 2023-2024 season. Her work is featured in Inlandia Institute’s All-Teen Issue of Inlandia: A Literary Journey (Spring 2023 Volume 14) and the Riverside County Teen Poet Laureate 2022 & 2023 chapbooks.