Ordeal
I CAN endure the blight of drought And the black rigour of my wild, But not the name of Beauty on his mouth And not to see him with a child.
Anna Wickham
I CAN endure the blight of drought And the black rigour of my wild, But not the name of Beauty on his mouth And not to see him with a child.
The ordeal here is not a storm or famine. The speaker says she can endure severe physical hardship—drought, the strict darkness of her own wild temperament. But she cannot bear two things: hearing the man she loves say the word “Beauty,” and seeing him with a child.
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