The poem "The Trees" by Adrienne Rich is about the conflict between man and nature. The central idea of the poem is that humans have confined nature within their four walls and enslaved it for their selfish needs. The poetess personifies nature and portrays how humans have harmed it by uprooting trees from large forests and keeping them in artificial glasshouses. The poem sends a strong message against deforestation and highlights the importance of trees for all living creatures. The poetess emphasizes that like human beings, trees also need freedom and can only grow to their natural vastness, grandeur, and dimensions in their natural habitat, the forest. The poem is an extended metaphor, where the trees represent people, specifically females who need healing or have been healed and are now ready for their true purpose, renewing the empty forest.