Joan Aiken left over a hundred books, many more stories, and many, many more poems that still fall out from between the leaves of those books and stories. There is always more to discover, and always the hope of finding a lost message.
This is from a story called The Feather and The Page, about a boy waiting to hear, or find some lost words after his mother’s death. His sister is trying to remember a poem she had been writing at the time.
The boy hears his mother’s voice, reciting the poem and passes it on,
and he hears his own message too:
And always the hope of hearing the words again.
January is a doubly haunted month for me, as it also marks the death of my brother, fellow listener to many of those stories, who died ten years ago.
This poem from one of our mother’s stories might have been written for him,
a songwriter who often provided music for her words.
John Sebastian Brown 14 July 1949 – 18 January 2012
Joan Aiken 
Yes, mystery, and magic, and hope – what a gift! How I wish every one of my favorite authors had a blog like this one. Thank you for all your work in bringing us these treasures.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you Lory, it helps to tell the stories sometimes.
LikeLiked by 1 person