He has the crew bind him upright at the mast, hands and feet, and orders them not to cut him loose no matter what he pleads or does. He must not be let loose. Then the song finds his name. He pulls against the ropes. He twists his whole body toward the rocks, teeth bared, every fibre straining. He scowls and screams at the men. His eyes say cut me free and his mouth shapes pleas, bargains, threats, vile abuse. They do nothing. Eurylochus comes to him and he grins like a fool, slacking, waiting to be freed, and Eurylochus only tightens the bonds and turns his back. The mast and the ropes hold him through the only minutes of his life when he could not be trusted with his own decisions. After, when they loosen him, he collapses. The rope-burn is the proof of how badly he wanted to go.
The Mast and Ropes
The mast he stands lashed against. The ropes that hold him through the song. The only thing between him and the only thing he has ever wanted.