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,
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.

(Ralph Waldo Emerson)