Jessie B. Rittenhouse

I bargained with Life for a penny,And Life would pay no more, However I begged at eveningWhen I counted my scanty store;For Life is just an 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 paid.