A Matter of Counterweight

I spotted a slender bamboo dragonfly balanced horizontally on the lip of a heavy earthenware pot. Two painted wings swept far forward, curving past its blunt snout. Cautious approach. I halted a pace away to study the physics. There was no glue holding it to the clay, only a single contact point at the beak. I reached forward and gave the slender tail a deliberate nudge with my index finger. The frame dipped, rocked through three silent, measured arcs, and returned precisely to level without falling. Clean mass distribution. I stood beside the jar, letting my arms hang loose while the wings leveled out. Sound balance needs no fanfare.