Posted by Stephen M. Nipper at August 2, 2005 01:11 AM

A couple of weeks ago, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor spoke at a judicial conference in Spokane, Washington. During her speech, she read one of her favorite poems, a poem which has since become a favorite of mine. I include the poem below (with the author's permission, of course):

"There Is No Indispensable Man"
by Saxon N. White Kessinger, Copyright 1959

Sometime when you're feeling important;
Sometime when your ego's in bloom
Sometime when you take it for granted
You're the best qualified in the room,

Sometime when you feel that your going
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow these simple instructions
And see how they humble your soul;

Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it up to the wrist,
Pull it out and the hole that's remaining
Is a measure of how you will be missed.

You can splash all you wish when you enter,
You may stir up the water galore,
But stop and you'll find that in no time
It looks quite the same as before.

The moral of this quaint example
Is do just the best that you can,
Be proud of yourself but remember,
There's no indispensable man.

So. Next time you are patting yourself on the back for the case you won, how many people viewed your blog yesterday, or whatever gets your ego thumping, remember that bucket. [Photo source]

Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)