He'd come back changed
One might say he was broken
He knew better
True he had his scars
And they covered him quite well
And perhaps he wasn't completely whole
But he was not broken
His scars were proof of that.
Scars, emotional or otherwise, are proof that a person survived. That they healed at least somewhat. They don't define a person or prevent them from moving on. They're a statement, they say yes I have felt pain, but I'm still here.