The Citizen of Laconia - July 12, 2007

Laconia Citizen - Thursday, July 12, 2007

July 12, 2007 - Groton, NH - He's been a soldier, a salesman, a security officer and a firefighter, but Paul Berube's latest title is one he never expected - poet.

Now with his first poetry collection, "Trail's End
Poetry - Lessons In Life" hot off the press, the new profession looks more like a trail's beginning for the Groton father of five.

But Berube is honest about his latest endeavor.
"It was accidental," he said.

In fact, the idea for his first poem came to him as he showered at Oklahoma's Fort Sill during his second army stint in 2003. "I had a lot of free time," Berube said of the army. "Things started to hit me and I just started writing."

He sent his poems back home to his wife, Joanne, who shared them with other family members. By the time Berube was discharged in March 2004, he had a sizeable collection to his name.

Although Berube never expected much to come of his new hobby, friends and family who had read his poems were impressed and convinced him to get his material published.

"When I went to get it published, I was expecting rejection," Berube said. "Then three or four publishers replied that they wanted to do a book — I was like, what do I do now?"

What he did was turn 55 of his musings into a professionally-published, 96-page collection.

"It's been crazy," Berube said.

What began as a hobby has since become a full-time job, Berube said, taking up 40 to 50 hours each week. But as long as he and his readers are enjoying the poems, it's worth it to him.

Before life as a poet, Berube had chosen public service jobs because he found the work gratifying. He served twice in the army,  became a local on call firefighter after the 9/11 attacks then worked in the Department of Homeland Security. However, a life-threatening brain condition in 2001 and an injury that led to total knee replacement in 2005 limited his ability to help others physically.

Then came poetry.

"I've always enjoyed helping people; with my disability it hurt not being able to help out" he said. "But I also enjoy offering inspiration. I'm trying to help people in a different way."

So far, Berube's poetry is helping in more ways than one; he's pledged all of his book's earnings to the Meredith Freewill Baptist Church until its new roof is paid for.

As long as the ideas keep coming for Berube, he'll have plenty to offer. So far, they have been.

Berube said inspiration strikes when it's most unexpected, so he carries a digital voice recorder to capture the muse when it does. When an idea hits him, Berube scrambles to record his feelings, then fits them to a rhyme and meter afterward.

In "Lessons In Life," Berube ranges from inspirational to spiritual to political.

His favorite poem, "Memories in Motion," was written about his relationship with his oldest son, Joseph.  "He and I had a fantastic relationship — we were best friends," Berube said. "It was just a lot of fun to do."

Other pieces take a political stand. "Our morals are beginning to decay — more from politics than from social life," Berube said. "Politicians are making their own decisions rather than following the will of the people."

But the seemingly eclectic collection does have a unifying theme.

"They're all things that have happened," he said.

Things have been happening fast for Berube, but he said that just means there are more ideas to draw from. He's already begun work on his second book, which he says will be longer than the first. Berube hopes to have "Mountain Trails — Trail's End Poetry" out by Christmas.

"That's the thing with writing," he said. "You can always find a subject."

"Trail's End — Lessons In Life" is available at all booksellers or online at Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com for $14.95.