Fatal Flaw Poems | Examples

List of Member Poems

Premium Member The Big Questions

You get weary of the big questions,
the seemingly unanswerable 
and the ones you thought
were resolved but resurrect
as doubts out of hard won certainties -
the mind rewinding arguments
to discover a fatal flaw.

And so you look to find a refuge 
somewhere in the experiential,
a connection to the hard substance
of things, form fitted out 
to house the spectral strands
of a fraying soul and make 
thought manifest in the real.

A place of unfolding wonder,
a pebbled stream flecked 
with sunlight, tall trees
carrying whispered conversations,
wildflowers bending in a warm
breeze - a place where
there is only what is taken in

and where all else dissolves,
losing the boundary 
holding together the very sense
of self - the bright afternoon sun
blazing overhead, the soft, leaf
filtered shadows in prayer,
the Infinite experiencing itself.

RESURRECTED DAWN

"Resurrected Dawn"
In twilight's hush, where shadows dance,
The Dire Wolf's howl, a haunting trance,
Echoes through the ravaged land,
As humans tremble, at their own hand.

The scientists' hubris, a fatal flaw,
Unleashed the beasts, in a world gone raw,
The T-Rex stalks, with calculated stride,
The Triceratops, with armor, does reside.
The Pteranodon's wings, a darkening sky,
As humans cower, with a desperate cry,
The Saber-toothed Tiger, with eyes aglow,
Prowls the ruins, where cities once did grow.

The planet's reborn, in a primal scream,
As ancient monsters, reclaim their dream,
The humans, a fragile, quivering throng,
Must adapt, or perish, in this resurrected wrong.

The Dire Wolf's pack, a ruthless might,
Hunts down the last, of humanity's light,
Yet, in their eyes, a glimmer of fear,
As they confront, the creatures they did bring here.

The world is lost, in a bygone age,
Where humans are prey, and beasts do engage,
Their primal instincts, a force so bold,

The future's uncertain, as the past unfold.
In this resurrected dawn, where monsters roam,
Humanity's fate, is a desperate, final home.

Dialogue

I have this superpower
It's more like a curse
I can hold conversations with people in my head
But I can't do that in real life
It's why I avoid people
If there's no one there
I don't have to struggle to talk to anyone
I don't have to constantly look at my word count 
And worry if I'm reaching my word limit

I know I shouldn't do that
But I'm an over thinker
I worry that I'll sound stupid
Or people will look at me weird for the topics I'm passionate about 

"Did my joke fall flat?"
"Should I say something?"
"Should I know this? Why don't I know this?"

So I stay silent
In a world filled with noise, I alone stay silent
That is my fatal flaw
My own mind.


Unholy Matrimony

“‘til death do us part” the vampire once said
 to his pallid bride, her throat blushing red.
 The guests grew squeamish at what they just saw,
 filled with great dread and primordial awe:
 as the groom his bride exsanguinated.

 They caressed, and kissed, and her life she bled
 And rose as one of the un-wholly dead.
 Exhausted they collapsed, their bodies raw.
 “Mmm, ‘til death do us part,” he said.

Later that day as they unslept in bed--
a smell so fetid her poor senses fled!
“Drac, did you fart?!” “No, ‘twas just a crow’s caw.”
Suddenly she knew her post-fatal flaw!
“’Mon coeur, blah blah-blah.’ she scowled in her head,
Ugh! ‘til death do us part!” she said.

Premium Member The Importance of Beeing

Being a bee -
A buzzy drive, 
Sole ownership 
Of honey hive.

My zest for life -
Laborious,
By nature sweet 
And glorious. 

With waggle dance 
I’ll guide the rest 
To flower feast 
In nectar quest. 

My fatal flaw - 
Stinging backside, 
You curse and live 
But I have died. 

So cheer me on 
Production spree, 
Do not disturb, 
Just let me bee! 

May 25, 2022

Premium Member Delving Into Denial

A serpent lies writhing on our divan,
we see now how denial might begin.
Hissing at all who would foil his vile plan,
our fatal flaw is not delving right in.

Climate Change is much more a twisty tact:
coiled thoughts like stone turrets in ivy.
If nations can't accept a real fact -
it's hard to turn this round, from what I see.

Setting science so very far aside,
deft doubters like letting sleeping snakes lie.
Skeptics scurry for a safe space to hide,
afraid to give the truth one honest try.

This then, becomes a crippling contrivance:
ever still stronger, steadfast defiance.






4/24/22 103 Words


The Shooter

The shooter from the train was sought
When police received a tip
And now it seems that he’s been caught;
To jail he’ll take a trip.

You’d think that in New York he’d find
So many spots to hide
Where he could leave no trace behind
With lots of time to bide.

Yet rarely someone in a scrape
(Or worse) evades the law
For each attempt at swift escape
Contains a fatal flaw.

New Yorkers now must heave a sigh
But not just of relief.
Despite the fact they caught the guy,
We’re filled with fear and grief.

Premium Member Fatal Flaw

FATAL FLAW
Let it be known
& be shown
  to accrue
upon demand

 servitude
where  hearts reside
then align
     as one
after the storm
 within

eloquence&grace
   shall be
a free intent
to withstand
   & embrace
    turn into gold
upon
the errant tide
    then to arise
to debate a begotten gain
 in fractured hearts
sheltered
  then
  to hold unbound
&to inspire
ere
   shrivelled
on the vine


THIS IS AN OPEN(organic) FORM VERSE without grammatical symbols the ' open' relies upon 'the one breath limitation' & so inherently requires the 'reader' (reciter) to input and respond thus making the form a two way interplay and often a unique interpretation by the enigma so derived

Real

A pathetic pantomime this life
The plot going nowhere
An art house film 
disguising nothing as something 
deep and dolorous
A carnival of calamity
My face reflected in rippled glass
Distorted
Contorted
like a funhouse mirror
My mind a haunted house  
of memories I’ve never made
Reciting my lines to an invisible man
who keeps missing his cue
My scenes always ending up 
on the cutting room floor
Maybe you drink too much
or I don’t drink enough
to make any sense of it
There must be a thorn 
some fatal flaw out of frame
waiting in the wings
left behind in the green room
when you take the stage
My past full of actors playing a part
pretending to feel
I’ve never known real

Premium Member On the Eve of Euthanasia

A little dog is a gift from God
Meant only through life to trod
As a companion to solace our mortal
Frailties through love unconditional.

But loyalty exposes its fatal flaw
When devotion's bonds exceed human law
And penalty is death for an unfailing friend
Whose only sin was a duty to defend.

Hers was love of a kind not easily shared
Yet, fate cast her with one as unprepared
As I to provide the healing balm -
And failing - it is she must meet the calm.

My crying brings her to kiss away the tears
I shed on thought of her end. I live with fears
she consoles as if to forgive
What I must do and can never outlive.

On the eve of euthanasia  2011

PS We found a new home before this was necessary.

Your Fatal Flaw

Violence whisks life away
Anger
Overturned
Your fatal flaw

The Art of Dying: Water

When one ignores his own distrust, 
He gives in to a touch of straw, 
Forged from what the simple lust, 
His muscles clad in layers of rust.
Witness, my daughter, man's fatal flaw. 

He falls into the riverbed, 
The mermaid drags him out of his way. 
He may lose his head and end up dead, 
With his skin peeled away, or worse yet
His soul, the river whore will flay. 

Manipulation is a staff. 
Don't trust your heart, go not astray. 
Will you break the rod in half, 
Or swim deeper, until the black
Is all there is, and the light of day... 
... has suddenly been snuffed out, and blown away?

Premium Member Out With the Old

Out with the old; in with the new
A face from the past simply won't do
Joseph Biden's fairly melting away
Don't get ideas, Hilary
You've seen better days...

The same thing back in 2016 was true
Jeb Bush checked all the boxes then too
A moderate whose wife was Hispanic
Jeb himself spoke fluent Spanish --

His downfall precipitated by one fatal flaw
He was yet another Bush family member
                          ~ That ice never thawed

Warriors Final Due

The moon had held a wickedness 
So unlike many of night I've seen
Embraced in an eerie listessness
While projecting an ominous scene

This night a warriors life was lost
One who unselfishly fought for all
She'd pay no matter what the cost
Her battles she picked, was her call

See it wasn't by beast's razor claw
She was too wise for them you see
Warriors hold at least one fatal flaw
One taking her life setting her free

It was much like an evil deception
One thing she was unprepared for
Like every rule held an exception
This one cut deep to her very core

The downfall of so many it seems
Struck down by the blade of a love
Laying there her blood did stream
Had to rise was all she thought of

High above that love raised his sword
With a swoop drove it deep in her heart
Her eyes stared at the one she adored
He broke her soul, that's the worst part

Her story will live on for the good done
How what a brave soul she held so true
Yet she knew for all the battles she won
Brought her even closer to her final due

Premium Member True Dat

Every day is different 
no matter what I do. 
A multitude of variables
keep me from the true. 

A flat tire, a loose wire,
a new friend suddenly appears,
and a favored pen disappears,
an argument over nothing, and
the postman brings you something,

the lawn mower won't start, and,
your child reveals her heart.
Trivial to substantial,
a randomness in all.

What is the deeper
hidden truth that thwarts
the things I do.
To not accept this deeper truth

is my fatal flaw.
The stubborn battle to
impose my truth,
keeps me from the true.

Sub Categories

Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.

Get a Premium Membership
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace