Flying Colors

She came through it
With flying colors.
At that age I could imagine
A nurse hanging banner s
Out her window,
Stripes rippling in the air.
I could even see the colors
Taking off on their own
Like magic carpets
Silky and sheer as scarves.
She wrapped a purple scarf
Around her head,
Proclaiming her recovery
On her way home
To a city sick of death.
But the next time she went in,
It must have been a day
Without sun or wind,
Because the colors didn’t fly.