The King and the Wheel

A king wished to rule wisely.
First he turned to the Left,
who said: “Take less, share more.”
But hunger still grew.

Then he turned to the Right,
who said: “Take more, make more.”
But the land cracked and the rivers dried.

At last he stood in the Center.
Here the wise men said: “Take a little, leave a little,
and balance the two.”
But soon the court was busy with quarrels,
arguing where the line should fall,
and the wheel turned on without them.

The king despaired,
until he met a child turning a flute in her hands.
She said: “Do not fight the wheel,
for it turns itself.
Listen, and play in tune.
Each note makes the next one possible.”

And so the king learned
that politics was not Left,
nor Right,
nor Center,
but Tuning.