Margaret laments the shifting of the seasons in the first lines of Gerald Manley Hopkins' poem Spring and Fall. She is upset because the leaves are falling in Goldengrove. It is argued that she is too young to comprehend what is happening to the trees' leaves. However, it can be inferred that she is mourning the loss of springtime flowers like violets because they were such a source of beauty for her family. In addition to this, Margaret is also grieved because she cannot find John. He has gone missing again. This time he has not returned home after work. His friends suspect that he has joined another fishing crew because he often talks about these new places he goes to fish. They fear the worst may have happened to him: he has been caught by pirates and sold into slavery. John's disappearance has had a huge impact on his wife and children. They do not eat well because they are too busy worrying about their husband's safety. The girls don't go to school anymore because there's no money for the tuition. And the son doesn't play with his friends anymore because he feels uncomfortable doing so while his father is away. Spring and fall, spring and fall,/ Thy verses are as sweet as fruit;/ But oh! What fruit unless 'twas love,/ That grows within the heart!