Every year around this time I try to find this poem by John M Ford: Winter Solstice, Camelot Station. This year, at Black Gate Magazine, I also found this discussion of the poem. And more recently: The Tiny Arthurian Masterpiece You Probably Haven’t Read.
The one who is King says “It all seemed so simple, once,”
And the best knight in the world says “It is. We make it hard.”