Chapter: Damsel - By Siti Nur Aqilah Amira binti Nor Alhamdi

Written By: Siti Nur Aqilah Amira binti Nor Alhamdi

Category: Poetry

Competition: Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026

Introducing "Chapter: Damsel," a profound poetry collection by Siti Nur Aqilah Amira binti Nor Alhamdi, also known by her writing name, Chapter: Damsel. Featured in the Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026, this collection delves into introspective themes and emotional narratives. The competition serves as a prestigious platform for poets and writers globally to showcase their work.

About the Work

The collection "Chapter: Damsel" unfolds a tapestry of emotions and introspection, weaving through themes of identity, longing, and self-discovery. With evocative imagery and a contemplative tone, each poem invites readers to explore the depths of human emotions and the complexities of personal relationships. The mood is reflective, capturing moments of vulnerability and resilience.

Chapter: Damsel

Original Submission by Siti Nur Aqilah Amira binti Nor Alhamdi

Chapter:

Damsel

Collection poems by: Aqmir Alhamdi

Seven Waves

She likes the idea of sitting by the cliff,

Mesmerized those clouds,

She took a deep breath,

Slowly breathing out and her intrusive thoughts appeared,

“If only you could let me follow you”,

She gasped,

It feels the waves haunt her again,

While the air is clean,

She could feel the light on her chest,

The sand makes her existence sinking,

She began to stand up,

Walk away from the cliff,

Unexpected voice called out her name,

She turned around,

It was him after all,

The constellation of their eyes are looking at each other,

He brought along an arranged bouquet,

Her lips begin to smile,

He stood firmly and said,

“I heard those seven waves are clement as you looking for”,

The storm that sat on her mind,

Slowly restful,

Now,

Both of them continuously,

Adoring those waves till sunset came,

Not just ordinary waves for sure.

Unwanted Haze

; it was a daylight for me,

as you were one call away,

there were some tone of you,

that i had to pause for a moment,

just to digest back to back,

blast it over and over,

searching all over the details,

where was it,

what was it,

why was it,

all of your serenity disappeared,

as you yell as much as you ever wanted,

it was a haze,

a haze that you completely grudge,

for a very long period,

guess you waited the haze,

to gust me away

Cold Brew

; at some point,

there are some part of me,

remained in the corner of the house,

you were brewing your coffee,

i stood bravery,

you throw some topic,

one of the topic,

unlocked my core memories,

the urge to leave that house,

was slightly,

you hold your glass,

you told me,

your heart has been froze,

ever since she left you,

without any concern,

guess all of the love was belong to her,

and none of them were left for me,

even to taste for a second

Essence

“You were there”,

this is one of your phrase,

you talked about your old fragrance,

i paid attention,

but you weren’t,

in fact you dislike the idea where i was,

you told me to get a new perfume,

as my essence made you remembered of her,

it kind of makes me laughed,

when you promised you would never,

made me feel bad enough,

guess i never know enough,

so i saw the signs,

i was never the right essence,

i was a duplicate that made by you

Toast To Tomorrow

; we sat by the park,

i brought some pie for you,

as it was your favorite,

you showed some pics you took,

from your previous adventure,

i was amazed and always be,

you gave me an envelope,

you warned me not to open it,

i was confused,

you said this is your toast to tomorrow,

my confusion gets absurd,

wish i could paint it and showed it to you,

it was not a regular toast,

it most likely the great escape,

you ever made in your entire life

Freak Out

; two different states,

one’s a listener while other one is the yapper,

they both weren’t aware to each other,

when the yapper comes to it senses itself,

they freaked out,

will they face their freak out moment again?

we never know,

let see the flow,

shall we

Sign Of Delicate

;

this is not the best phrase i ever wrote,

it seems odd to experience this,

at the age where i always wondered,

while the excitement is undeniable,

i came to offer a peace,

it sounds cooler in my head,

trust me,

well it is delicate,

worth of coffee shot,

fairly,

quite surely

Natural

; i pretend nothing happened,

as the ache i had is still ongoing,

it’s giving scripted,

but love have thrown me into a puzzle,

where i can’t even see where is heading,

you can call it what you want,

in fact,

i’ve seen the signs,

but i shut myself,

as i thought i’m losing my own drama,

i knew those bridges lead me back to those horror,

yet it is natural

The Only Exception

;

the only exception i could barely take,

was your existence,

my mother smiled at me,

i remained stood calmly,

like i said,

you are the only exception,

that seems like a gold rush,

you tolerate all over it,

it is all i ask,

you such a fine person with natural jokes,

while i’m just another pathetic writer

Once A Fighter

;

A shadow stood upon us,

none of us sees what’s coming,

we were too lack for our surrounding,

a friend of mine starts to praying,

begging for a guardian to protect him,

i barely hold my breath,

seems like i knew what’s coming,

life is one mystery,

i believed so,

maybe we both will get the forgiveness,

that we have always seek for,

this wasn’t just such a trial,

the road is long enough,

to make us strong like a fighter,

He gave us the light,

We stood before Him

Welcome Yourself

;

it seems hard to be apart of it,

but it doesn’t make you stop to try it again,

people will leave you,

it’s a test,

as every one of us will experience it,

it must be tiring but i’m sure you’ll understand,

at the end of it,

you shall be the one who welcome your victory,

forgive yourself so you could taste the calmness,

welcome home

Wish To Be A Bolter

;

Curious as selfish,

But not to be known even her best mates,

She kept running,

and wish to be a bolter,

Cause she sees torn that kept relapsing,

It wasn’t anyone’s fault,

But the car was speeding,

Waving and leaving,

As it knows she’ll be a bolter,

Sooner or later

So Long?

;

My love life is an entertainment for my friends,

I never experienced the definition of love,

So long?

I couldn’t resist to restart my heart,

Some said I’m too naive,

My mind are older than my age,

Seems funny for the folks,

But for 8 years,

I’ve been falling with wrong one’s,

What was it for?

A lesson, A tragedy, A long list jokes,

I’m too used with the haunt,

Yet the one might be out there,

Praying for me to be safe and sound

Little Me Would Scared Of Me

;

The adult of myself crash as much as it wants,

even the results can be painful to figure it out,

The tears from the past,

might be the worst one,

The tears in present,

might be insanely pain,

So who should be scared?

Little me,

Little me would never get the idea of betrayal,

Little me cared enough to love others,

Rather to be loved,

Adult me want to be loved,

This is a lookalike of Jo March,

Or the definition of the eldest

Down Bad

;

He told me I was the one,

Yet the life was too short to realized,

How pathetic it was,

Believing his words instead of his actions,

Seems hard to wakin’ up in the same circle,

It was not heavenstruck at all,

It went down bad enough,

Until he build some comfort for himself,

And now he’s crying at the gym,

While I’m dancing at the back of my own planet

A Fan Of Brokenhearted

;

The sun decided not to shine,

or was it the moon struck as she walk into the crowd,

She kept winning even the bruises turn into marks,

She felt her mind breaking down,

She knew she’s a real tough kid,

These people throw some praises,

Instead of asking what’s going on,

She’s been on her knees for a long period,

Sounds like a fan of rom-com,

Or just a fan of a broken heart that needed to be healed,

Care to say,

Nothing much left

Seek Emphaty

;

It never calm her at all,

She looked everywhere for the same benefit,

Sounds like an infant,

Covered her ears with blasting songs,

As it haunt her all over,

Befriend as much as she wanted,

The prophecy remained the origin,

She never speak with her blood-hood,

It ruined her back to back,

It Ended As Much I Hate It

;

It ended,

in a way i never thought it would,

It ended,

as it knew how i hate it to be there,

It ended,

as my friends felt the betrayal,

It ended,

as i quickly run to lunar valleys that i made in my mind,

I’m bitter but i swear I'm alright,

I’ve been worse but it’s adulting,

I need my prophecy to be changed,

But a greater women wouldn’t beg,

So I’ve been on my knees since it ended

Gift

;

it may seem vulnerable,

when it comes as it leaves,

although it will come again and again,

no matter how long it takes,

to persuade you and i,

it’s a gift,

a gift that everyone keep seeking for,

this is a calm that we all wanted,

it’s beyond than you and i could ever imagined,

my wounds felt the existence,

clearly not misapprehension,

just a perquisite

A Pair Of Wings

;

the breeze has always been colder,

whether i would noticed or not,

the sun has never been sunny,

but it seems like i do noticed,

those pigeons weren’t in their nest,

perhaps they lookout something to eat,

this circle has never been odd,

till today,

my coffee was bitter,

bitter enough to wake me,

i’ve been reading the same news,

and one of the pigeon’s wings broke,

like how you betrayed my trust,

you were my wings,

but i was never ready to be yours

Rather Than?

-

i rather sitting in the corner of the shop,

witnessing you falling in love with someone else,

i rather walk the other way,

than walking to the route where i’ll bump into you,

i rather writing the same line,

than seeing you in the eye,

i rather listening to your excuses,

than making my own,

i rather,

how easy was i saying those thoughts to you,

when you knew at the end,

we shall walk with our own path

Where To Startover?

-

leaving was not just a choice,

it was a start for us,

we were a blank page that wanted to filled with inks,

it was a phase of moving on,

"where to start?" is a thought that keep us awake,

we thought it would ended when we just started,

previous chapter was unfair,

so this new page has to be fair,

at least this choice

Odd Of Serenity

-

Old couch,

Was rarely touch,

By the owner itself,

As the unsettled thoughts,

Lured the way how the old days looked like,

It was hoping somebody would roll up the windows,

But there was nobody in the house,

As the house was made of glass,

It might be crack for a gazillion time,

You bet the cabinet made from Italy,

Sadly it made of disheartened

Define Of “We Might Be…”

-

We might be happier,

We might be hilarious,

“Might” is a strong word which define a polite request,

But requesting you to stay wherever you are,

Seem clueless and yet you disagree with it,

Haven’t I been decent to you?

“Time” is what you needed,

Guess I’ll see you in a couple of months,

It won’t hurt for a year,

As I am imagining,

And there goes another “We might be”,

Comes from your mouth,

Instead of agreeing my suggestion

Lore

-

One of a kind lore,

Which brought serenity more,

Into this unprepared mindset,

That bothers every part of the journey,

But who is to blame right? There’s gazillion faces to pick,

So the lore might be a path to a new lore,

Sounds a bit insane but you’ll get the idea,

Once you’ve tasted the bits of the lore

Thoughts of Dazed

-

Been dazed and confused for the last few days,

Wasn’t sure if its about the sorrow,

Or it’s about the adulthood that I’m currently facing,

Some said it’s okay to feel nauseous over it,

But what’s the pill to cure the dazed that needed to be ended,

I couldn’t find the right antidote,

Or I haven’t experience till I turn 25,

Some said it’s the peak,

So I’m still at the stage where I’m a newbie,

Let’s hope it won’t lured me till I loose my mind

Climax Of Everything

;

Yes, this is the end you’ll be reading,

I wish nothing but may the serenity keeps lurking you,

So you won’t lost in this world,

Where peace is hard to be seen and discovered,

Cause it takes time and a lots of Sabr,

So slow down when you are trying to chase the bag,

Even the time is known as gold,

But if its meant to be it will be,

Specifically for yours,

Now the episode for this season is denouement

Winning Tears Over Your Symphaty

;

Those front seats were specifically for you,

I wanted you to have a nice view,

Then you started grip your hand intensely,

Meaning I touched the rotten inside of you,

The spotlight went ahead of you,

Which made you felt uncomfortable,

Because what i’ll be performing is something you couldn’t have,

Due to your less sense of humanity

What If We Only Exist…

;

How does it feel to be loved?

When to be loved is to be seen?

We are leaning out for love,

And when we discovered the truth,

We remained silent rather than deciding,

I think there’s no such thing existing,

Specifically when we decided to dive into it,

We exist as we both concerned to each other,

Scared if one day we’ll never exist,

In our own pages

The Right Damsel

;

One by one,

It felt surreal to hold that thought,

when it seems unbothered as the sun goes down,

but shine all night long,

One by one,

the sense of your believing in me seems fading,

which leads to another tragedy,

One by one,

it felt like the glowing was part of the show,

which I shall never treasure it,

due to my variety mistakes

Being the right damsel has always been the idea,

but somehow you never see me as the right one,

I was just another blueprint of her

that you used to imagined

About the Competition

The Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026 by Hashtag Kalakar is a celebrated event that invites writers and poets from around the world to share their unique voices and stories. This competition highlights diverse perspectives and creative excellence, making it a significant event in the literary calendar.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Siti Nur Aqilah Amira binti Nor Alhamdi for sharing her evocative collection "Chapter: Damsel" with us. Her participation in the Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026 enriches the tapestry of voices that make this event so special.

About Hashtag Kalakar

Hashtag Kalakar is a creative platform dedicated to providing artists, writers, singers and other creative talents with opportunities to showcase their work and reach wider audiences through competitions, features and creative initiatives.