Summary

This short poem is about an elderly witch who lives in a room filled with clocks. She would sell storms, sorrows, and calmed the sea. The narrator explains that he bought three sorrows. The first he gave to his enemy’s child, the second was made into a broth by his wife, and the third remains unused. Regardless of this, the witch’s life is in a box which makes her quite sorrowful. We are not told what makes the witch sad, but she always returns to her house full of clocks.

Analysis

It is quite possible that this story is attempting to give the reader a new perspective on the witch character. In this poem, the witch does not use it for evil, she instead gives the sorrows to others to use. It does not seem that she uses any of her...