Ró skyldu menn reiði gefa;
raunlítit kømsk opt á þrefa;
gagarr er skaptr, þvít geyja skal;
gera ætlak mér létt of tal.
Verit hafði mér verra í hug;
var þat nær sem kveisu flug;
jafnan fagnar kvikr maðr kú;
kennir hins, at gleðjumk nú.
Menn skyldu gefa reiði ró; raunlítit kømsk opt á þrefa; gagarr er skaptr, þvít skal geyja; ætlak gera mér létt of tal. Hafði mér verit verra í hug; var þat nær sem flug kveisu; kvikr maðr fagnar jafnan kú; kennir hins, at gleðjumk nú.
Men should give rest to their wrath; often a very little thing occasions strife; a dog is shaped for barking; I intend to make my speech lighthearted. Something worse had been in my mind; it was almost like the pain of a boil; the living man always rejoices in a cow; it is clear that I am cheering up now.
[6] flug ‘the pain’: Cf. (O)Icel. flog ‘shooting pain’. The Norwegian/Orcadian form ([u] for [o]) is required by the rhyme. See comparable dialectal colouring in sts 5/8, 11/4 and 18/2.