The Rose and Her Thorns

in an instant

it started off as a small light,
growing only slightly in size in
under a second.
it glowed in an orange hue,
and then within a microsecond
the whole world was black,
there was nothing.
within a nanosecond,
it happened.
and just like that, within
a zeptosecond, the world
was shaken from its slumber
with the loudest clap of thunder
it had ever witnessed.
it was as if a switch was flipped
and electricity was pumped
through the entire earth.
sending a shock wave through
every living organism in its path.