Poets logo

When the Clock strikes Zero🌤

And the road drops to Dark.

By Antoni De'LeonPublished 4 months ago Updated 4 months ago 2 min read

No one woke up this morning

There was no one to wake up

Our time was up.

The clocks had all struck zero.

Deep, deep within their Horology

🌤 An ominous prophesy was fulfilled

The final bell tolled.

The End - warned the prophets and seers

Beware when Zero stopped the mechanics

of all clocks everywhere

People scoffed...myth and old legends

We are in control of the workings of the clocks

There is no end or beginning

We simply just...ARE

But it all did end today...

Sadly, there were no people to see it

To hear it within the final tick, tock

Tick, tock, tick, tock of the clock

Or the resounding menace of the last

toll of the bell.

The buildings stood firm

The trees swayed in the gentle breeze

🌅

The Sky at Break of Day is a quiet harmony of awakening

A canvas where night’s final snore,

dissolves into the hush of morning light.

A beautiful day...for people to disappear!

🌤

The Color Palette in the Eastern horizon, is a soft blush of rose gold and peach, like the sky arising from a dream.

Far above the world...hints of lavender and powder blue, fade gently into the deeper indigo remnants of night.

Clouds wander, in wisps of silver mist and cotton-pink streaks, sometimes tinged with amber as the sun begins to rise.

🌬 The atmosphere feels almost reverent - The air still, cool, with a trace of dew, as if the world is holding its breath.

No birds begin their morning ritual of tentative songs, no chorus, just scattered silence of curiosity.

No animals barked or meowed, no crickets chirped, no lions roared, nothing moved

No life chased through forests of green

No living thing is visible

Shadows are long and soft-edged, stretching like sleepy limbs across the earth.

🌞 Light

The sun hasn’t yet breached the horizon, but its presence is felt - a glow, not a beam.

Light spills slowly, like molten honey, illuminating treetops and rooftops in a gentle crescendo.

There's a sense of promise, of things about to begin, but not rushed - just unfolding.

Every living thing on the Earth had just vanished.

The clocks had rewound themselves -

To zero o'clock

Sensing a silent restart...

Utter silence resounded for a full minute...

As if awaiting something cosmic...Reverent.

Then the first new...TICK

As the world became poised to begin again!

Thus ended our "Chronos" (χρόνος) a measurable, sequential calendar of time.

A quantitative, linear progression of encompassing seconds, minutes, hours, days, and years.

In contrast came "Kairos," a specific, opportune, or significant moment in time.

"Chronos"...linear and measurable, "Kairos"... a specific, or God-ordained moment. It's a moment pregnant with significance and potential for something important to happen.

We had lived our Chronos...now Kairos begins again.

The world, like a long awaited road...tilts anew!

By Matt Foxx on Unsplash

🌤 🌞

Free Verse

About the Creator

Antoni De'Leon

Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content. (Helen Keller).

Tiffany, Dhar, JBaz, Rommie, Grz, Paul, Mike, Sid, NA, Michelle L, Caitlin, Sarah P. List unfinished.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments (7)

Sign in to comment
  • Dharrsheena Raja Segarran4 months ago

    Whoaaaa, that was outstanding! Loved your wonderful take on this challenge!

  • Sid Aaron Hirji4 months ago

    We need a revival-if it takes a revolution-let it be

  • Novel Allen4 months ago

    We are due a renewal now...humans have reached a point of rejuvenation.

  • L.I.E4 months ago

    Wow the beauty of earth and time without humans. Great lessons within this poem. Love it. Amazing writing.

  • Tiffany Gordon4 months ago

    ,💙

  • The world needs renewal, indeed. Poignant, Antoni.

  • Well written. It’s always interesting to ponder what the world would look like with the absence of human inhabitance. You did a great job drawing that picture for us.

Find us on social media

Miscellaneous links

  • Explore
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Support

© 2026 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.