I really love this stanza and how the clocks are personified. They're essentially "imprisoned" due to their one function-to tell time. Also I like how clocks also give me the same kind of anxiety, they constantly tick forward, a literal constant reminder that time's arrow (oh hey Bojack Horseman) movement can't be stopped or delayed. The chatter is the ticking of the clock. The personification transforms an object so commonplace and innocuous as a clock into this ominous force of nature that's almost malicious in it's pursuit.