The invitation below is to a collective meditation that aims to create a meeting between human energies and their rich imaginaries. Élodie Paul wanders in a quest to understand the multiple dreams and desires that gave birth to the Nardal salon. Through the use of sound, voice, humming, and silence, Paul intends to connect with each present being, inviting them to bear witness to this collective moment of grounding, remembering, transcendence and what she calls Caribbean glissement.  

She whispers:  

My Dear, 

As I read this narrative poem by Paulette Nardal, the rumble of a heavy late-summer storm drifts in through my window. The night blue has almost swallowed Paris. The streetlights aren’t on yet. There is only the searing light of lightning bolts fracturing the sky and my retina … my memory. 

A heavy sky of such wild intensity that it reminds me of the skies back home. A magical spectacle. Alive with presence. Healing, yet dangerous. 

Far away. Home. 

Far away. Memories.

And yet, I am certain I could touch them if I opened my palms wide enough. 

I ache for our land with a longing that can never be fully satisfied. Time, distance, and History sweep on ceaselessly, methodically tearing us away from our source. I feel eternally displaced. 

All that remains for me is to summon—here in my living room—the fragments of landscapes I still hold. 

Those that belong to me, to you, to our ancestors—all of them continuing to travel toward us on the ocean currents.

Will you bear witness to this moment of quiet reflection?