Ek man jötna ár of borna Þá er forðum mik fædda höfðu Níu man ek heima, níu íviðjur Mjötvið mæran fyr mold neðan Ár var alda, þar er Ýmir byggði Var-a sandr né sær né svalar unnir Jörð fannsk æva né upphiminn Gap var ginnunga, en gras hvergi I remember yet the giants of Yore Who gave me bread in the days gone by Nine worlds I knew, the nine in the tree With mighty roots beneath the mould Of old was the age when Ymir lived Sea nor cool waves nor sand, there were Earth had not been, nor heaven above But a yawning gap and grass nowhere