The first stanza of Adrienne Rich's "The Trees" mentions three things that cannot happen in a treeless forest: "No bird could sit": In a treeless forest, there are no branches for birds to rest on. "No insect hide": In a treeless forest, insects lose a major source of shelter and camouflage. "No sun bury its feet in shadow": This is a poetic way of saying there are no shadows cast by trees in the forest. Without trees, the sun can't create shadows.