How to Bargain With Life

This is an oldie. Author unknown.

"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 willingly paid."