En sægnípu Sleipnir
slítr úrdrifinn hvítrar
Ránar rauðum steini
runnit brjóst ór munni.
En úrdrifinn Sleipnir sægnípu slítr brjóst, runnit rauðum steini, ór munni hvítrar Ránar.
But the spray-spattered Sleipnir <mythical horse> of the sea-peak [WAVE > SHIP] tears its breast, covered with red paint, out of the mouth of white Rán <sea-goddess>.
[2] hvítrar: hvítum U, hvítar B
[2, 3, 4] slítr brjóst … ór munni hvítrar Ránar ‘tears its breast … out of the mouth of white Rán <sea-goddess>’: A metaphorical depiction of the ship as it re-emerges from the trough of a foaming wave, thus escaping from the jaws of the sea which threatens to swallow it. As in the previous stanza the sea appears as a cannibalistic monster. The description of Rán as hvítrar ‘white’ presumably refers to the white crests of waves.