Charles Francis Coghlan

A blackness comes forth, thick clouds from the North

A serene cemetery atmosphere

Transforms into one of melancholy and drear

The wretched remaining seek shelter ahead

Huddled together, shedding tears for the dead

And ‘midst the silence before that storm

The beginning of this peculiar tale is born

Ravished by infernal winds, hail and rain

A storm surge generated by a deadly hurricane

Caskets plucked like feathers and swept into the sea

Into a maritime eternity

Charles Francis Coghlan, born in Paris, 1842

A remarkable actor awaiting his breakthrough

Charles Francis Coghlan moved from Ireland to the United States of America

His charisma would put a spell on you

Talented, handsome and eccentric

A rising star... reaching far

Rough waves carrying caskets towards another destiny

And most of them sink into the cold blackness of the sea

Yet one coffin keeps floating steadily

Charles Francis Coghlan, rising star, reaching far...

Charles Francis Coghlan, rising star, reaching far... in death

Breath-taking was his play, expressing joy, fear, sorrow and rage

He collapsed to the floor

And when his applause died down, he truly died on stage

Charles was no more

Day and night dancing and swaying along with the tide

Crushing rogue waves pounding the box of death until it’s out of Sight

Until there's no more light

Corroded by maritime salts

Submerged into the ocean’s cold

Sinking away from the circling sharks

Pulled down into the dark

Charles Francis Coffin - rising star, reaching far

Charles Francis Coffin - rising star, reaching far... in death

Charles Francis Coghlan - rising star... reaching far.

Charles Francis Coghlan - rising star... reaching far in death

Taken by the wave from its Texan grave

Coghlan’s coffin drifted like a ghost along the American coast

Until 7 years later, after the storm had abated

The casket was found washed ashore on Canadian ground

We are artists for life until the last drop has been shed

And true artists will always perform until their very last breath

Even within the cold and timeless theatres of death