O:JA&L Poetry: All forms & styles
Jonathan Fletcher
Co-Redemptrix
On Tuesday, November 5, 2025, Pope Leo, like his predecessors, reaffirmed The Church’s rejection of Mary as a co-redeemer of the world.
No Joseph present
in our lives, there were things
you had to teach me alone:
How to position a nail
against flat wood, as if to crack into Creation.
How to lightly strike
the head with small taps until the shank
would stand by itself,
ready to hang something worth watching.
How to cross myself in Mass—
forehead to chest, left to right.
When to bow, when to kneel,
when to recite the liturgy.
How to fillet and cook fish
on Fridays, bigger hands
over smaller ones, lighter fingers
around darker ones,
darker ones around sharpened steel, smoke
from the skillet
rising like the Lord.
How to get myself down
from a cross
of my own making. Nail by nail,
year by year.
No longer little, barely Catholic now.
Still yours,
though, a believer of sorts:
That Pietà can turn to joy,
that a son be raised
by his mother savior
____________________
NOTE:
“Co-redemptrix” is a title historically used by Catholics for the Blessed Virgin Mary, referring to her role in the redemption of all peoples. It was formerly a Catholic doctrine.
About the writer:
Jonathan Fletcher holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Columbia University School of the Arts. His work has been featured in numerous literary journals and magazines, and he has won or placed in various literary contests. A Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best Microfiction nominee, he won Northwestern University Press’s Drinking Gourd Chapbook Poetry Prize contest in 2023, for which his debut chapbook, This is My Body, was published in 2025. Currently, he serves as a Zoeglossia Fellow and lives in San Antonio, Texas.
Image: Pietà 2 (AI-assisted digital image) by O:JA&L staff creative. 2025. Public domain via MidJourney AI.
OJAL Art Incorporated, publishing since 2017 as OPEN: Journal of Arts & Letters (O:JA&L) and its imprints Buttonhook Press, HOT BUTTON PRESS Contemporary Issues, and HIGH BUTTON PRESS Contemporary Art, supports writers and artists worldwide.
O:JA&L’S BUTTONHOOK PRESS MASTERS SERIES
Click on the titles below to explore or download the free PDF chapbooks in the O:JA&L Masters Series.
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Brian Clements on Prose Poetry
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Mark Budman on Flash Discourse
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Ray Gonzalez on Prose Poetry
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Master Series: Michael Martone on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Master Series: Roberta Allen on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Master Series: Peter Conners on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Maxine Chernoff on Prose Poetry
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Pedro Ponce on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Tom Hazuka on Flash Fiction
With an interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Kent Dixon on Flash Fiction & Nonfiction
With an interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
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