From the “wish I could credit it” department comes this verse that’s been dinging around in my head for over 20 years:

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.

If anybody knows who wrote that, or even where I might be able to search for who wrote it, please let me know.

Update, July 2024: The author is Jessie Belle Rittenhouse