The speaker looks back on a hard past year and finds that even a kind smile can drag it all back up. The repeated "unfortunately" works like a sigh, a reluctant admission that this memory won't stay buried. The year seems to have been a kind of numb waiting, with dreams "in stasis" and "laced with chemical aftershock." The poem doesn't say what happened, but the imagery suggests something like medication, addiction, or a painful treatment, though that is an inference from the language.
The middle of the poem turns physical and harsh: fabric wound around the mouth, barbs cutting the cheek, purple lines and scars. These images suggest silence and pain, being unable to speak or cry. By the end, the scars are "transparent," invisible to others but now part of the speaker's personality. The final line is quiet and blunt: the man within "will never be the same again." The mood is weary, bruised, and resigned, with grief that feels more settled than angry.