Alek Wek
With what shall I compare thee?
for before thee I crave the key
to open a poet’s muse designed
a new source of beauty defined
thou apt black flower of the Sudan
thou art an epitome of true African
thy symmetry carved in ebony tinsel
from the forge of thy designer’s chisel
thy gorgeous gait on life’s runway
no fare to pay I opt for stowaway
as I grope to see thy dark skin dazzle
thy gait envied by the daintiest gazelle
Thy triumphant beauty is peerless
thy humble innocence is spotless
thy sparkling teeth is like crystals
flecks of brocaded delicate petals
Alek, thou smile like an ecstatic balm
soothing to the tireless painter’s palm
now intoxicated by your beauty to faint
as I strive thy beauty captured in paint
Thou quintessence of exquisiteness
thy statute of beauty is delicateness
thy feet I lay panting the art to master
in careful portrayal my heart to muster
Written by
Dela Bobobee©
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Alek Wek
Dedication: I dedicate this piece to Alek Wek, the super model of an African descent. When American Elle chose Alek Wek for the cover of their November 1997 issues, they were taking a considerable risk.
Conventional wisdom stated that featuring a dark-skinned African girl on the cover of a major American fashion publication would not sell issues.
The result, however, was quite the contrary.
Who could have predicted the monumental reader response from women and men of all ages?
Each and every one was ecstatic about seeing the standards of American beauty being expanded and redefined.
As Oprah Winfrey commented when Alek appeared on her show, "If you'd been on the cover of a magazine when I was growing up, I would have had a different concept of who I was." Born in Southern Sudan, Alek was raised as part of the Dinka tribe.
At fourteen the civil forced her to flee to London with her younger sister, where they waited two years to be joined by their mother and three more of their eight siblings.
It was in London, while attending school for art and design, that Alek was discovered.
www.alekwek1933.com
Versatility thrives in the imaginative dimensions of ideal specialists with generalist perspectives.