The wind dies and the sea goes glassy and the air turns sweet. Odysseus breaks the wax and kneads it soft in the sun. He goes down the line of the crew and presses it into their ears. He holds each man’s head like he would his own son’s. He sees what he had not noticed before: a scar, a mole, a deep furrow in the brow. Twenty men he had sailed with for ten years and only now does he see their faces. Then they bind him to the mast and take to the oars and the only thing between the song and the men is the wax in their ears. It holds. The men row. The island slips past. Some defences are very simple. They still have to be put in place by hand.
The Wax
Wax kneaded soft in the sun. Pressed into each man's ears so the Sirens cannot reach them. The captain holds each head like he would his own son's.