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 paid.

~Jessie Belle Rittenhouse (1869–1948)

When I first read this poem, I realized that not only did it describe my life in general up to that point, but especially my marriage to a Narcissist.  I spent a whole day reflecting on its words when it finally came to me…

What I got from the Narcissist is what I’d bargained for…

Not to say I deserved the abuse.  No one deserves that. But, the…