I bargained with life for a penny,
And life would pay no more;
However I begged at evening,
When I counted my scanty store.
For life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask;
But once you have set the wages,
Now you must bear the task.
I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn, dismayed;
That any wage I had asked of life,
Life would have willingly paid.
(My Wage by Jessie Belle Rittenhouse)