Becoming The Muse<p><strong>Of Empty-handed Returns</strong></p><p><strong>Guest Post</strong></p><p>Part of my childhood was in Kuwadzana. A modest neighbourhood in Harare – we did not have much, but we got by.</p><p>When you grow up in a neighbourhood where sections are identified through employed figures; “kumaraini kwemuface anoshanda kwa Bata,” <em>*the area for the guy who works at Bata</em>— it is clear that opportunities will not be as many. We were never under any illusion, the decision was between fighting, flighting and surrendering to substances.</p><p>Naturally, some joined the great trek down south. Going to South Africa was an adventure of love, pain and doom. Some returned in body bags, others with speaking difficulties and others stumbled on fortune.</p><p>We commiserated with comrades who returned in any other circumstance except those who found their way home with empty hands.</p><a href="https://becomingthemuse.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/urban-legend-meme.jpg" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a><p>“Akadzoka Joza ne hoodie,” <em>*He came back from South Africa with only a hoodie</em>— Often echo at this swampy corner we usually occupied towards sunset. It aptly described many of our beloved brothers. We would roar in laughter, amused at the lack of tact, planning and wisdom. Young we were, still reconciling with the sight of small hairs in our armpits.</p><p>We grew up. We became men. Our voices grew a coarse texture and our problems became tales that demand one to sit down before they process the chaos.</p><p>We realised, perhaps the brothers who returned home with open palms were not as stupid as earlier imagined. Sometimes life decides to be cruel and even the well-intentioned can bleed at its instigation.</p> <p><strong>About The Author </strong></p><p><strong>Leroy Dzenga </strong>is a writer, journalist, and researcher from Harare, Zimbabwe. He is a multidisciplinary writer with experience in journalism, academia, and corporate communications. Dzenga consistently tries to tell the everyday Zimbabwean story in what he describes as an attempt to humanise the nation. He is currently working on a short story anthology and is still figuring out how to package his scattered prose works for publishing.</p><a href="https://becomingthemuse.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/leeroy-dzenga.jpeg" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a>Leeroy Dzenga <span></span><p></p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://becomingthemuse.wordpress.com/tag/adulting/" target="_blank">#adulting</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://becomingthemuse.wordpress.com/tag/childhood-memories/" target="_blank">#childhoodMemories</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://becomingthemuse.wordpress.com/tag/guest-post/" target="_blank">#GuestPost</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://becomingthemuse.wordpress.com/tag/immigrant/" target="_blank">#immigrant</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://becomingthemuse.wordpress.com/tag/immigration/" target="_blank">#immigration</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://becomingthemuse.wordpress.com/tag/the-zimbabwean-dream/" target="_blank">#TheZimbabweanDream</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://becomingthemuse.wordpress.com/tag/zimbabwe/" target="_blank">#Zimbabwe</a></p>