Bits & Pieces Index

I bargained with life for a penny

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,
and gives you what you ask.
But once you have set the wages,
why, you must bear the task.
I worked all my life for a menial’s hire,
only to learn, dismayed,
that any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have willingly paid.

author unknown