Because He Whistled at Carolyn Bryant

Dexter Booth

They fixed a seventy-five pound cotton gin Fan around his neck. The barbed wire tied to it Was supposed to act as a weight. He was shot and beaten, Thrown into the Tallahatchie River. And for three days the water said nothing About what had occurred.

The Fishermen who found him Must have been startled When they pulled in what was supposed To be the catch of the day.

The funeral was open casket So that the world could see What had been done as the result Of a simple joke.

He did not grab her waist Or ask for a date. As she had alleged. He wanted Candy and a soda.