Carrie Fisher (1956-2016)

          
An over-actor who I once knew
Came back from a location
Of some truly awful movie and
Dropped into conversation

That Carrie Fisher was in the cast
(She played his sister or wife)
And he swore she was the funniest
Person he’d met in his life.

This was before Fisher’s books
Came out. So, you see
A claim to her wit was a brand
New bit of news for me.

Fisher soon became an author
And calmly beckoned with
Certainty that she was a comic
Voice to be reckoned with.

My hammy thespian pal was the kind
Of person who gave
Grand pronouncements like a certain
Performer was “brave.”

This is, of course, utter crap & it’s
More than just a bit unsavory
To suggest that any actor in a part
Is actually capable of bravery.

That term should only be applied
To soldiers who are at war
Or doctors doing emergency care:
These folks we can’t ignore.

Yet Fisher possessed true valor & not
Merely in terms of hilarity
But in her bold willingness to openly
Discuss her bipolarity.

Her doing this opened a door into
This troubling affliction
With both honesty and humor and
Without any contradiction

About how difficult it is to cope
As soon as it’s clearly known
Your mind is a bad part of town
And it has a mind of its own.

The good she did is incalculable
With her ironic culpa, mea
Which made her even braver than
She was as Princess Leia.