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Retired Victoria record store owner pens a poem for these ‘strange times’

Joey Scarfone offers his creative commentary on the scenario wrought by a pandemic
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Joey Scarfone, the author of Vintage Cars of Victoria and a former record store owner in Fernwood, has written a poem reflecting on the current times we’re living through. Black Press file photo

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.com

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