Poetry is a natural energy resource of our country. It has no

Hear the stirring words of Richard Eberhart, the American poet of vision, who proclaimed: “Poetry is a natural energy resource of our country. It has no energy crisis, possessing a potential that will last as long as the country. Its power is equal to that of any country in the world.” In this bold declaration, Eberhart elevates poetry beyond art, beyond entertainment, and names it as a force equal to the engines of industry or the armaments of war. He declares that a nation’s true wealth is not only in its oil, its steel, or its armies, but in the inexhaustible well of spirit, imagination, and language.

The meaning is heroic: unlike coal, oil, or gas, which deplete with use, poetry is a resource that grows the more it is shared. The more a nation sings, writes, and speaks, the richer it becomes in soul. No embargo can choke it, no scarcity can starve it. Its fuel is human experience—sorrow, joy, hope, despair—and as long as life endures, poetry will endure. In this sense, Eberhart reminds us that the deepest strength of a people is not measured in factories or armies, but in their ability to tell their story, to shape meaning, to inspire through the power of words.

History itself confirms this truth. When Greece was small in territory and resources, it still gave the world Homer, Sophocles, and Sappho. These voices outlasted empires, carrying Greek culture across millennia. Rome conquered lands, but it is through Virgil and Horace that its spirit continues to breathe. In modern times, nations devastated by war—Poland, Ireland, Vietnam—kept their flame alive through poets who gave voice to suffering and hope. In every case, the power of poetry proved greater than the power of armies, for it outlasted destruction and carried identity through the ages.

Eberhart spoke as one who lived through wars and upheaval. He saw that a nation could face scarcity of oil, or hunger for resources, but never need suffer an “energy crisis” in the realm of poetry. For so long as people live and breathe, they carry within them stories, rhythms, and visions. This inexhaustible energy not only sustains the spirit of a people but also projects their voice to the world. Thus he declares that American poetry has a power equal to any country in the world—not because of wealth, but because of the boundless resource of its imagination.

The teaching is also motivational. It calls us not to neglect this resource, not to treat it as trivial. Just as nations invest in preserving their oil and forests, so too must they nurture their poets and artists. For if the wells of imagination are left untended, the nation may find itself spiritually barren, rich in material wealth but poor in soul. The true greatness of a country lies in its poetry—the power of its voice, the depth of its vision, the ability of its words to endure across time.

The lesson is plain: every citizen is a keeper of this energy. Each poem written, each verse read, each song sung is an act of preservation, a spark added to the collective fire. Do not imagine that only famous poets sustain this power; every schoolchild reciting a verse, every mother whispering a lullaby, every worker singing a song contributes to the inexhaustible reservoir. The nation’s poetry is its people’s poetry, and its energy will endure as long as they speak.

Practical actions follow. Read the poets of your country, old and new, and carry their words as torches. Encourage young voices to write, to sing, to find their rhythm. Support art and education, for these are the wells that keep the energy flowing. And in your own life, turn to poetry not as luxury but as necessity, as vital as bread and water, for it strengthens the soul and links you to the great chorus of humanity.

Thus Richard Eberhart’s words endure as prophecy: “Poetry is a natural energy resource of our country… its power is equal to that of any country in the world.” Let us remember that while material power fades, the spirit’s power is eternal. A nation that keeps its poetry alive will never fall into darkness, for it carries within it a light that no crisis can extinguish, a resource that no age can exhaust.