Acclaimed singer-songwriter Rodney DeCroo’s second poetry collection, Next Door to the Butcher Shop, explores the permeability of memory and uncovers heart-wrenching beauty from shadowy grit.How quickly agedescends on us. Our memories are mapsto places that don’t exist. I was an emperoron a green lawn wearing a white sheetand a paper crown. The birds sang my praisesfrom the hedges and the treesDeCroo unsentimentally recounts moments suffused with grief, longing and loss, and offers a refreshingly unfiltered view of one’s self.I’d stand for days along the edges of expresswayto sing off-key into the screams of semi-trailers and carsuntil I stood within a cocoon of silence and flashing shadowsIn a deft combination of lyrical and visceral imagery, Next Door to the Butcher Shop offers a rare, sharp, first-hand perspective of life around the edges, with dark comedy dispersed throughout.