Mike O’Brien
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zoomburst.substack.com
Mike O’Brien
@zoomburst.substack.com
1.3K followers 1K following 1.4K posts
Sixty odd years old. Running the Sixty Odd Press and a proud member of the Promote Indie Lit network

zoomburst.substack.com sixtyoddpoets.substack.com promoteindielit.com
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Click on this BBC Sounds link to a Thursday night on Radio Wiltshire. Speed along to the 49 minute mark to hear a magical #poem "Stored" from our #poemsabout friend Rachel Burrows @rburrows.bsky.social
February 13, 2026 at 9:48 AM
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#PoemsAbout #Undressed
we decided to undress Each garment was dropped carelessly to the floor as we revealed the secrets of our flesh It took some time Our movements not being as nimble Our limbs not as lithe as before Stiff, feeble fingers fumbled adolescently with buttons, belts and clasps. Until we stood before one another Shrivelled Sagging Slack and In the buzzing glow of the electric fire. Beautiful
February 13, 2026 at 9:28 AM
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I didn't realise how much I liked Tennyson until I started writing about him for #SixtyOddPoems. Apart from being a cracking Victorian poet - He looks a lot like my Brother in Law. #poetry
2.5 The Charge of the Light Brigade
...Being further exploration of the need to be obedient and follow orders, both in Victorian times and in the present day.
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February 12, 2026 at 8:34 AM
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The rather remarkable Jane Sharp, who will have a poem in the inaugural edition of #Odd (The journal of the fellowship of the #60Odd poets. But not one of those featured here... #poetry
53. Jane Sharp
A poet with two poetry collections, two novels and nine lives
sixtyoddpoets.substack.com
February 10, 2026 at 8:43 AM
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Heres what I am doing (when I remember that #BlueskyPoetry posts work better with tags. #poetry
An Odd Schedule
I really can't keep away - This is why I must...
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February 9, 2026 at 10:26 AM
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Here's what I am currently doing - (when I am not procrastinating on social media)
An Odd Schedule
I really can't keep away - This is why I must...
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February 9, 2026 at 10:19 AM
Reposted by Mike O’Brien
ianduhig.bsky.social
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
An adult pleasure zone decree
February 9, 2026 at 8:53 AM
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Today's #SixtyOdd Poet is Ulrica Hume - with a collection of six short, punchy and keenly observed pieces of #poetry.
93. Ulrica Hume
A San Francisco poet and writer who has performed on both sides of the Atlantic.
sixtyoddpoets.substack.com
February 8, 2026 at 1:06 PM
Reposted by Mike O’Brien
thepaulconnolly.bsky.social
I just rebalanced my first poetry collection. I added newer poems & made as much space for urban verse as for material about a city sensibility confronting the natural world.

Much of it has been tested by publication in top magazines. It’s in fine shape.

I’ve almost 30,000 followers.

Publishers…?
February 7, 2026 at 7:29 AM
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Here’s a little gem. I like the skellingtons in the picture too.
February 6, 2026 at 9:53 PM
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poemsabout
February 6, 2026 at 11:55 AM
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Sorry to jump on the #poemsabout hashtag, but I am thinking of putting out a selection of poems on the theme of heresy on the #SixtyOdd #Poets page on Sunday Feb 15th to commemorate Galileo's 462nd Birthday. Anyone want to send me anything? (email in alt text)
Father Christmas giving Arius the Heretic a slap around the chops for speaking out of turn about Jesus. You can email me with your heresy poetry at sixty_odd@aol.com No - It really is Father Christmas - St Nicholas!
February 6, 2026 at 11:55 AM
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Tough call this week. Mouths? We've all got em, me included... Great poetry on a theme of mouths? A lot less of us can claim any, I certainly can't.
#PoemsAbout #Mouths
February 6, 2026 at 10:14 AM
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Odd - A new literary journal from #SixtyOdd Poets. Those lucky enough to be within striking distance of Mexborough - Come to the launch... Those who are less lucky than that - you will still be able to buy a copy - and maybe even help me to organise a launch near you. #Poetry
Odd - a New Literary Journal launching in Mexborough - on 22nd February.
February 5, 2026 at 3:48 PM
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How lovely to get something in the mail, (the actual postman comes to your door and pushes it through the letterbox mail). And its never too late to get a Christmas card. And #poetry stickers too! It's made my morning. Thank you Danielle @the-engine-idling.bsky.social
A grinning Mike O'Brien with a Christmas Card and some stickers which have come all the way from Pittsburgh courtesy of Danielle at the Engine Idling a sticker showing a strange looking Alice in Wonderland type character and "god save the poets" written on it.
February 4, 2026 at 11:40 AM
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What a moving piece of #poetry. I imagine that this writer is vey experienced in this genre.
A very tempting offer from an American widow who is both terminally ill and a millionaire who wants to send me all her money. Reader, give me some guidance.
February 3, 2026 at 8:43 PM
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More #SixtyOdd #poetry from Sheffield. Heres Andrew Stott, with a collection which spans both comedy and tragedy. (incidentally submissions for sixty Odd Poets are currently open)
92. Andrew Stott
Ex-caver and climber with a passion for poetry
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February 3, 2026 at 6:51 AM
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I've just read through all the #PoemsAbout #BlackVeils that have gone up so far. I have to say that the quality is stratospheric this week. My breath is taken away.
I'd better throw my veil into the ring...
Sometimes you wonder whether Alt text is really necessary - but here it is anyway.. Peace Swathed in black, she came to him and sat astride his broken form Though numbed and weary, still he felt a wonder and a joy at this. She bent and shrouded him in shade The fearful noises faded fast as his heart stilled within his chest She took the veil down from her face and covered up his eyes with it Cold as he was, he felt her warmth and when he left, he left with her She took him off. No-one knows where.
January 30, 2026 at 9:21 AM
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Its time for some serious theological discussion. Traditional views of the deity all have him as a holier than thou figure. Perhaps this is a built in feature of Anselm's ontological argument. But by the same argument wouldn't God be able to curse more strongly than any other being in creation?
2.4 What if God Said the F-Word
...Being some thoughts about the Lord God incarnate
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January 29, 2026 at 7:54 AM
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I just finished this yesterday. One of the #books that I got for Christmas this year. What a magnificent read. I heartily recommend it. A story of a tough childhood and drug addiction with a political dimension too. Built around Charles Dickens' David Copperfield. Which I shall read next. #booksky
The book, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. A copper haired boy looks out of a window
January 28, 2026 at 8:32 AM
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Jim Jepps, bookseller #poet who brings stories of discord, reconciliation and #Yorkshire life.
52. Jim Jepps
Advocate of canine anarchy who sells other people's books.
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January 27, 2026 at 8:30 AM
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And while I still have the air of Mexborough version of Caledona fortifying my blood, here are my thoughts on #RobertBurns, and the art of rude #poetry. Its the last of my articles in #60Odd Poems for a while. I have lots of other exciting things to do over the next few months.
2.60 Robert Burns and Juvenile Filth
Cock up your beaver, and sup till you cack your stockins, it's Burns night!
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January 26, 2026 at 7:48 AM
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What a fabulous #BurnsNight Celebration we had in Mexborough yesterday. The whisky flowed, as did the #poetry!
Here's the #SixtyOdd poets Burns Night Special, for all those who partake.
A 60 Odd Burns Night Selection
Poetry for a braw bricht moonlicht nicht.
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January 26, 2026 at 7:40 AM
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#poemsabout #falsecrowns
The Disco King He ran a hand through his thinning silver hair Hundred and fifty, love. That’s three hours music and light show I’ve got all the gear And I’ve got all the hits All the Elvis And sixties through to the nineties Never mind anything later than that That’s when they made the real music. I’ve got the stuff that will keep them all dancing From grandma down to the kiddies I know when to quieten things down And when to rev things up I’m experienced, see I’ve been in this game since 1982 I can do requests I’m connected to the internet She got him down to a hundred and twenty I must be going soft, he thought But work is harder to come by these days People are doing it themselves With their fancy speakers and Spotify playlists The bottom’s dropping right out of it And to tell the truth, He wasn’t as into the music as he used to be But what can you do? A man’s got to earn a living.
January 23, 2026 at 3:33 PM
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Is it going to snow? Can we build a #snowman? Can we build the best snowman on the block so that all the other kids will look upon it and despair? Did #Shelley ever build a snowman? Would he have written snowman #poetry? What happens to snowmen when they die? So many questions.
2.2 A Snowman Dies
...Being a winter visit to Percy Bysshe Shelley by way of Raymond Briggs
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January 22, 2026 at 9:55 AM