There never was any protection:
not walls, nor brush, nor wooden shield,
nothing behind which to conceal nakedness;
no protection, and nowhere to hide.

The children were naked and in the open,
without rock or wall or any other means
to conceal them from the sudden fall.
There never was any protection:   no force,
neither substance nor shadow, nothing
behind which to take shelter from the sun.

The blow might come from any direction,
at any time, for no known reason and
without discernable warning, out of the sun
The blow might fall from anywhere, for
no reason known to the children, left
naked, with neither shadow nor shield,
nor any other protection, nor sign:

there never was any protection,
no shelter, and nowhere to hide.