if josephus daniels were an atheist

after the thousands of devotees had left
and after the offered flowers had withered
came in the atheist
in search of a quiet place to read his book


god came up to him,
sat beside him and turned his pages for him
and quietly whispered:
"the greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do"


the atheist looked up
smiled and said
i still do not believe in god
you are just the ghost of walter bagehot