She is neither pink nor pale,
And she never will be all mine;
She learned her hands in a fairy-tale,
And her mouth on a valentine.
She has more hair than she needs;
In the sun 'tis a woe to me!
And her voice is a string of colored beads,
“Hands” are a symbol for what one does, and “mouth” is a symbol for what one says. Whatever this woman does and says is done like she is living a fantasy, and maybe even detached from reality as a result. Notice how the title is “Witch-WIFE”, not “Witch-girl”, or “Witch-Woman”–so this poem may in fact be Millay’s view of married women.
Witch-Wife