Summer was dead, but autumn had not yet been born when the ibis came to the bleeding tree. It's strange that all this is so clear to me, now that time has had its way..
Doodle was born when I was seven and was, from the start, a disappointment. He seemed all head, with a tiny body that was red and shriveled like an old man's. Everybody thought he was going to die.
When he crawled on the rug, he crawled backward, as if he were in reverse and couldn't change gears. This made him look like a doodlebug, so I began calling him 'Doodle.' Renaming my brother was probably the kindest thing I ever did for him, because nobody expects much from someone called Doodle.
Doodle
Daddy built him a cart and I had to pull him around.
If I so much as picked up my hat, he'd start crying to go with me; and Mama would call from wherever she was,
Take Doodle with you.
So I dragged him across the cotton field to share the beauty of Old Woman Swamp. I lifted him out and sat him down in the soft grass. He began to cry.
It's so pretty, Brother, so pretty.
What's the matter?"
At times I was mean to Doodle. One time I showed him his casket, telling him how we all believed he would die.
When I made him touch the casket, he screamed
Even when we were outside in the bright sunshine he clung to me, crying..