By Steve Hanson
Put your hand in a glass of water. Now take it out. That's how easy it is to replace you.
— Steve Hanson
This quote is attributed to former All Blacks coach, Steve Hansen, but the original source is unclear. The “hand in water” metaphor is a well-known saying about replaceability that predates any specific attribution.
The poem “The Indispensable Man” (sometimes called “The Indispensable Item”) by American writer Saxon White Kessinger, uses the metaphor to humble those who feel their absence would leave a permanent void:
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’ll be missed.
First published around 1959 in The Nutmegger Poetry Club under the author’s maiden name, Saxon Uberuaga.