MY WAGE

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,
 Why, 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 gladly paid.

—Jessie B. Rittenhouse