Book Review: Being in Harmony with Nature

Being in Harmony with Nature. Christopher Viau. CreateSpace, August 1, 2015, E-Book only, 45 pages.

Reviewed by Ed Marohn. 

Being in Harmony with Nature, A collection of Poetry by Christopher Viau is a little gem at 45 pages. Mr. Viau has cerebral palsy but that does not stop him from writing a book on poetry and illustrating it with his own watercolor paintings.

He is not a scholarly poet, nor a poet's poet, but he offers meaning beyond the structured world of academia on poetry writing. He sees the world through a delightfully sweet child-like lens. The author avoids excessive symbolism and mystery in his poetry and instead tells what he sees, all the while marveling at the world around him.

In his poem, “A Valley of Lily,” the line "with a few lilies in a couple of years, they will fill up a field," tells what the future can hold in nature.

In another poem, he describes the bird tapping on his window as a good morning greeting. The author absorbs that simple act and avoids making it complex, mysterious, or symbolic.

To enjoy Mr.Viau’s poetry, the reader has to be unselfish and enter the mind of the author, a man battling a disease. Through those eyes the reader will discover a pure love of nature and a concern for it. His poem, “My Little Green Friends Have Gone Away,” describes the loss of frogs due to the destruction of a pond for the sake of building a strip mall. A Petco store in that mall now sells captive frogs, and this worries him about what humans are doing to the earth.

Is he reflecting a child's voice through simpler impressions that maybe an adult has lost? That is for you to decide. However, he brings what is important without complexities by fresh, simple observations and reflections.  

Finally, he is an artist and his watercolors are a strong addition to the book. His paintings add the complexity to his crisp poetry. You will enjoy this book.