A thump against the window, again. This time a goldfinch.

He sputters on the deck, one wing dragging, the other spiraling like a paddle, frantic. Flightless now, he seeks cover, flails underneath the grill.

I did not need this sorrow today. I do nothing to help because I’m not God.

Luise Bolleber recently published her first book One War Ago, a biography about her father’s experiences in World War II. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Cereal City Review, The Dolomite Review, and elsewhere.