--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: War and ceasefire There was a war…" description: "\"“War and ceasefire There was a war followed by a ceasefire, Land covered in ash, dead men and women, Beside the dead were unfulfilled dreams and many a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f0/javid-ahmad-tak-22175_best-war-poems_war-and-ceasefire-there-was-a-war-follow_1844613.jpg" --- # War and ceasefire There was a war followed by a ceasefire… ![“War and ceasefire There was a war followed by a ceasefire, Land covered in ash, dead men and women, Beside the dead were unfulfilled dreams and many a desire, This is how it is now and this is how it was then, Because a country defeated in war, Enters into the state of passive spirit, To the…” quote by Javid Ahmad Tak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f0/javid-ahmad-tak-22175_best-war-poems_war-and-ceasefire-there-was-a-war-follow_1844613.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f0/javid-ahmad-tak-22175_best-war-poems_war-and-ceasefire-there-was-a-war-follow_1844613.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f0/javid-ahmad-tak-22175_best-war-poems_war-and-ceasefire-there-was-a-war-follow_1844613.jpg) > ““War and ceasefire There was a war followed by a ceasefire, Land covered in ash, dead men and women, Beside the dead were unfulfilled dreams and many a desire, This is how it is now and this is how it was then, Because a country defeated in war, Enters into the state of passive spirit, To the victor, spirited men and women of the defeated country appear too few and too far, So, they rush to assume this is it, the end of it! To be followed by two immediate actions, Repatriation by the winning side, And reparation by the losing side while dealing with endless sanctions, Behind which their broken spirits hide, But as years pass by and time grows older, The defeated side realises the losses it suffered, The men it lost, and the women who fought in ways bolder, And the living ones, the paying ones, look at their spirits battered, And they hear echoes from the past, Few calling a mother, few a father, many a brother, a sister and someone a lost lover, And then the ship of agony and pain hoists its broad mast, And the left one, the still and forever paying one, is forced to become an avenger, Because he/she misses the person to whom these echoes belong, He/she struggles to deal with the past that haunts him/her in the present, And to deal with this belligerent self, he/she hums the firebird’s song, And finally with hatred and lament he/she is pregnant, Finally when the feeling is born, The defeated spirit rises from the ashes, And begins to sew together the feelings that lie scattered on the ground, mutilated and torn, With these feelings of hatred and vengeance now his/her spirit gushes, The silent ground that had been the graveyard of dreams and desires, Suddenly turns into a war zone once again, So, those who say peace can be brokered are cynical liars, Because one who is dead can never be brought back again, And thus the battle between revenge and avenging deaths enters a new phase, Where the defeated side now fearlessly marches forth, Because it has nothing to lose and it has no more ghosts to chase, And thus is born the one who loves romancing the sun, the killer moth, It stings all, and it flies freely everywhere, Until both sides accept defeat, Then they begin to dig graves to bury a hope here, a wish there, and someone’s desire somewhere, And somewhere lies the lover who his/her beloved could not meet, And then is born the curse of unfulfilled wishes, desires, hopes and life’s darling affairs, Now both sides lie in ruin because there is no ground left to bury the dead, And the sound of echoes keeps getting louder and the ground turns wet with tears, It is then the spirit forsakes them all, because genuine valour does not reside in places where courage on death is fed, And as time grows older there are no more bold men and women left, Because it is a diabolic ground where only echoes from the past haunt all, Where all are victims of a different kind of theft, That of humanity’s innocence that actually was the cause of great fall!”” [Javid Ahmad Tak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javid-ahmad-tak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poem depicts the cyclical nature of war, defeat, and the rise of vengeance, showing how unresolved grief fuels ongoing conflict. **In simple terms:** War breeds endless cycles of pain and revenge. Key Takeaway Recognize and heal trauma to break the cycle. Themes war revenge grief healing history cycle Mood somber reflective determined Type poetic political philosophical When to use this quote - post‑war societies - reconciliation processes - mental health support - peace negotiations - intergenerational trauma Key Concepts psychology political science sociology Questions to Reflect On - How can societies address collective trauma? - What steps prevent revenge from reigniting conflict? A Different Perspective Peace talks often ignore deep personal loss, making lasting resolution difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Inspirational quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational-quotes/) [Life quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-quotes/) [Life-changing-quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-changing-quotes/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Old men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-men/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Unfulfilled dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfulfilled-dreams/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War zone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-zone/) ## Related quotes > [“War and ceasefire There was a war followed by a ceasefire, Swaths of land lay covered in ashes and dead men and women, Beside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javid-ahmad-tak/war-and-ceasefire-there-was-a-war-followed-by-a-ceasefire-swaths-of/) [Javid Ahmad Tak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javid-ahmad-tak/) > [“War and peace Humanity has fought many wars, But won none, Because even in peace the victors carry its scars, That they can share…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javid-ahmad-tak/war-and-peace-humanity-has-fought-many-wars-but-won-none-because-even/) [Javid Ahmad Tak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javid-ahmad-tak/) > [“A bomb here and a bullet there A bomb here and a bullet there, A wall riddled with bullets everywhere, A man dead, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javid-ahmad-tak/a-bomb-here-and-a-bullet-there-a-bomb-here-and-a-bullet-there-a-wall/) [Javid Ahmad Tak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javid-ahmad-tak/) > [“When a country is defeated, there remain only mountains and rivers, and on a ruined castle in spring only grasses thrive. 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To be followed by two immediate actions, Repatriation by the winning side, And reparation by the losing side while dealing with endless sanctions, Behind which their broken spirits hide, But as years pass by and time grows older, The defeated side realises the losses it suffered, The men it lost, and the women who fought in ways bolder, And the living ones, the paying ones, look at their spirits battered, And they hear echoes from the past, Few calling a mother, few a father, many a brother, a sister and someone a lost lover, And then the ship of agony and pain hoists its broad mast, And the left one, the still and forever paying one, is forced to become an avenger, Because he/she misses the person to whom these echoes belong, He/she struggles to deal with the past that haunts him/her in the present, And to deal with this belligerent self, he/she hums the firebird’s song, And finally with hatred and lament he/she is pregnant, Finally when the feeling is born, The defeated spirit rises from the ashes, And begins to sew together the feelings that lie scattered on the ground, mutilated and torn, With these feelings of hatred and vengeance now his/her spirit gushes, The silent ground that had been the graveyard of dreams and desires, Suddenly turns into a war zone once again, So, those who say peace can be brokered are cynical liars, Because one who is dead can never be brought back again, And thus the battle between revenge and avenging deaths enters a new phase, Where the defeated side now fearlessly marches forth, Because it has nothing to lose and it has no more ghosts to chase, And thus is born the one who loves romancing the sun, the killer moth, It stings all, and it flies freely everywhere, Until both sides accept defeat, Then they begin to dig graves to bury a hope here, a wish there, and someone’s desire somewhere, And somewhere lies the lover who his/her beloved could not meet, And then is born the curse of unfulfilled wishes, desires, hopes and life’s darling affairs, Now both sides lie in ruin because there is no ground left to bury the dead, And the sound of echoes keeps getting louder and the ground turns wet with tears, It is then the spirit forsakes them all, because genuine valour does not reside in places where courage on death is fed, And as time grows older there are no more bold men and women left, Because it is a diabolic ground where only echoes from the past haunt all, Where all are victims of a different kind of theft, That of humanity’s innocence that actually was the cause of great fall!”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Javid Ahmad Tak" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javid-ahmad-tak/war-and-ceasefire-there-was-a-war-followed-by-a-ceasefire-land/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Best-war-poems" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javid-ahmad-tak/war-and-ceasefire-there-was-a-war-followed-by-a-ceasefire-land/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f0/javid-ahmad-tak-22175_best-war-poems_war-and-ceasefire-there-was-a-war-follow_1844613.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f0/javid-ahmad-tak-22175_best-war-poems_war-and-ceasefire-there-was-a-war-follow_1844613.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f0/javid-ahmad-tak-22175_best-war-poems_war-and-ceasefire-there-was-a-war-follow_1844613.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“War and ceasefire There was a war followed by a ceasefire, Land covered in ash, dead men and women, Beside…” — Javid Ahmad Tak", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Javid Ahmad Tak", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javid-ahmad-tak/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“War and ceasefire There was a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javid-ahmad-tak/war-and-ceasefire-there-was-a-war-followed-by-a-ceasefire-land/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javid-ahmad-tak/war-and-ceasefire-there-was-a-war-followed-by-a-ceasefire-land/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```