Myles Yates
An Ekphrastic Sonnet based off the To Pimp A Butterfly album cover where Kendrick speaks to
the baby he is holding
Look, my child, look at what we’ve taken
Back from captors who called us their weak prey
The lawn of White House can’t be mistaken
This our church, our home, feet allowed to stay
The gospel of blackness for us negus
We took this with our beauty imperfect
Even with self-hate, it was all so for us
Done for those whose spirit try to connect
With those alive, We all try to live through
Being alright with all these walls inside
The least we can do, turn volumes up to
Sounds that our heartbeat can truly do ride
Levels just so we let ourselves holler
That we found heaven was worth a dollar
the baby he is holding
Look, my child, look at what we’ve taken
Back from captors who called us their weak prey
The lawn of White House can’t be mistaken
This our church, our home, feet allowed to stay
The gospel of blackness for us negus
We took this with our beauty imperfect
Even with self-hate, it was all so for us
Done for those whose spirit try to connect
With those alive, We all try to live through
Being alright with all these walls inside
The least we can do, turn volumes up to
Sounds that our heartbeat can truly do ride
Levels just so we let ourselves holler
That we found heaven was worth a dollar
Myles Yates is an African American poet residing in Orlando, Florida. He is focused on making poetry that is rooted in music, memory, and the melody in between.You can find his work on Freezeray Poetry and Variety Pack.