As I get of that scrappy looking bus,
I look around, still the same old barren veld.
Thorny bushes, sandy gravel, malnourished grass;
I used to walk these places, I remember
Nothing has changed, still the same old places.

Across the distance, I can see the bushes,
Behind them I used to squat and relieve myself.
Above them I see the roof tops,
They are the convenience stores I used to patronize.
I have to get there, I know I have to,
To see if there are faces I remember,
The old faces I used to know.

I walk down the familiar dusty path,
Memories of good days and bad days engulf my imagination.
This is home to me, this is where I belong.
I can't wait to see my momma,
My children, my wife the distance feels too far.
I can feel tears of happiness swell in my eyes.
This is the time I wish I could fly,
To the happiest moment of my life.

Step by step, I walk the distance.
I see people that I know, they don't remember me.
Most, of cause, can't believe it's me.
I just bow my heard in respect, I walk on.
I reach the shopping center, where
I used to hang out with my folks.
Half of them consumed by AIDS and poverty.
I avoid stopping by, I don't want to take away
The energy for my happy moment.
I tread on, inside, my heart throbs, searching for freedom.

This place hasn't changed a little bit, I am thinking.
Nothing new has been built,
Still the old buildings, getting older,
And the poor people getting poorer.
This is my home, where my heart dies to be.

Across the valley, stands my school
My Alma mater, where my children go.
It was blue when I left, can't tell what color it is now
Maybe a pale shade of blue, beat up,
Four years of sun, rain and wind
I wander that’s where I built my dreams
And I have chased after them ever since.
I also think of my brothers long gone;
With whom I shared dreams and a conviction to break out;
Shingi, Andrew, Charles, Albert, Gordy and Johnny.
My heart aches for them.

But I walk on past the grass thatched huts,
I have seen them since time immemorial.
Smoke still trickles from the blackening grass roof tops;
At least there still is life, I am thinking.
Children dot in and out of those dark rooms playfully
At least they still make them, I tell myself
Our kind will live on, we will survive.

As I emerge from this last village,
I see my homestead, peeping through those
Large wild blackberry trees.
They are still standing, I am amazed,
They been standing there since I was born.
Fear creeps in, as I see the homes I know;
I know who used to live in them,
It's a different place, for the heart's been broken.

Indeed, it's the same place I was a few years back
It's the same place, missing so many of the people I knew
Many so close to my heart, I want to cry for them.
My hands are empty, no big bags, no suitcases
I clutch to my three teddy bears
They are for my three girls, that is as heavy as can be
For my boys, it’s my heart that I hold for them
For I want them to be men, more than I have been.

Like the biblical prodigal son, I stumble
But I won’t fall, I soldier on, no one is expecting me
That's where my joy is, I hold back my tears
Because I am gonna see so much flow
Tears of joy, tears of happiness.

I cross that small stream, Chinyani;
Still flowing some clear water.
It's been a long time since I took my first swim
In the ponds upstream, the same ponds we fished
Those tiny fish we roasted as we herded cattle.
I used to wait for my wife, then my school age sweetheart
We never dreamt then, that we would be a family.
Sitting on those soggy banks,
I would throw stones in the water, watching, those
Circular waves grow, until they fade
I can't remember what went through my mind
But I know I would carry her books
Rock with her to within a hundred feet of her house
For her mother gave 'a don't mess with me stare',
That was love so innocent, but so great.

As I get close to my village,
People walk about, they stop to watch;
Probably wondering who the hell I am.
However they go about their business.
I drift closer to my homestead,
I see my mother stop and watch;
She attempts to walk away and go on with her business
But she stops again, ‘that’s my mum'
She wouldn't miss me in a thousand years
The one that dislocated her hip as she gave birth, no.
I see her call my sister, who looks,
My son runs, stops and looks,
Then another of my sons, then my nieces, everybody.
I keep walking towards them, it’s been four years
I know they just can't believe it's me.
I have grown bigger of cause McDonald's and Quesadillas
Thousands of them I have munched.
My hair is long, but nicely tucked at the back

Then my wife comes, that's my sweet heart;
They all stand there wondering.
He never called they seem to be saying;
The group has grown to more than ten.
I know every one of them, everyone is grown,
But from that distance I can name all of them
They love me, so much, I know, that as soon as they realize
They are gonna break their legs trying to outrun one another.

I keep my cool, I keep walking;
I slow down, I am crying, I am so happy.
Suddenly my mother takes off running towards me,
I know she is crying already, she gave me those tears too.
My father, my father is back, I know she is saying;
Everybody else just stands there,
They think the old lady's gone crazy.
She keeps running, stumbling, almost falling,
I wouldn't imagine my mom running that good, she has a slight limp.
I take off on a sprint, opening my arms like I am gonna fly;
Then only does everyone run after her,
They overtake her, but she doesn't stop
I brace for a knock down, when
That whirlwind gets in contact with me.
I am so happy, I can't run no more,
I go down on my knees, as every one of them dives for me.
They knock me down as they pile up on me,
I am laughing my lungs out;
I stand up, shrugging everyone off
To catch my mother before she falls
I hug her as she goes down to her knees,
Saying her prayers aloud;
You are back daddy, you are back, she says
As streams of tears run down that wrinkled face.
My children cling on me like I could bolt away;
I surprised you ha? I say
That’s the day in my dreams, just a dream.