Joey Scarfone is a Victoria resident, retired goldsmith and author of Vintage Cars of Victoria – a beautifully illustrated book on just that. For a while he also owned his own record and music store, Lazy Joe’s Vinyl Emporium in Fernwood Square.
Scarfone is also an amateur musician and photographer/videographer who has a way with words and he sent fellow Black Press publication Monday a heartfelt poem based on the “strange times” we’re in right now due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These times are unprecedented,” he says of his motivation for writing the verses. “It’s how I deal with my anxiety, to be honest. As a human race we’re pretty helpless right now, we’re on the ropes.”
A regular jammer at The Loft Pub on Gorge Road, he also worries about working musicians who are out of work. He notes that even busking on the street is not very effective given the lack of passersby – let alone those willing to use cash.
Despite his misgivings about what the future holds, his poem does have an optimistic ending.
Here it is in written form:
Desperate Dogs
grey sky blocking the sun
streets are deserted but there’s nowhere to run
the first day of spring
seems like the last day of fall
and the desperate dogs are watching it all…..
*****
they watch from the markets that have emptied their shelves
they watch from the shops that are closed
they watch from their balconies, afraid for themselves
they watch from their kids who need clothes
*****
it happened so fast…..like wind through the trees
no one knew what was going on
the whole human race was brought to its knees
something was really wrong
****
so the dogs stayed at home ’cause being alone
was the only thing they could do
they needed a plan, or maybe superman
would help them make it through……
*****
through the war they’ve never fought before
through the losses they would endure
through the jobs that aren’t there anymore
through the hope they’ll find a cure
*****
and then the dogs did what they do best….
*****
they went for a walk and started to talk
and eventually got a grip
the desperate dogs howled at the moon
and got on board with the trip
editor@mondaymag.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
