Nettle's poem follows a child through a single game of hide and seek, and uses it to describe the loss of childhood. It begins in a flooded, sunlit garden, where the child's world feels "light and happy." Playing with friends seems like all there is.
Then the game turns. The child starts searching, and the repetition of "searches and searches" makes the hunt feel longer and more anxious. The friends are still hiding, but they no longer seem to be in the garden. Instead of finding them, the child runs into "the harshness of growing up."
The speaker's feeling is a quiet, wistful sadness, and the poem never raises its voice. The mood moves from bright and playful to uneasy and disappointed. The ending is blunt, and it suggests that growing up isn't something you choose. You simply look up from the game and find it has already happened.