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Poetic Edda

149. A third I know,  if great is my need
 Of fetters to hold my foe;
Blunt do I make  mine enemy's blade,
 Nor bites his sword or staff.

150. A fourth I know,  if men shall fasten
 Bonds on my bended legs;
So great is the charm  that forth I may go,
 The fetters spring from my feet,
 Broken the bonds from my hands.

151. A fifth I know,  if I see from afar
 An arrow fly 'gainst the folk;
It flies not so swift  that I stop it not,
 If ever my eyes behold it.

152.[1] A sixth I know,  if harm one seeks
 With a sapling's roots to send me;
The hero himself  who wreaks his hate
 Shall taste the ill ere I.

153. A seventh I know,  if I see in flames
 The hall o'er my comrades' heads;
It burns not so wide  that I will not quench it,
 I know that song to sing.

    Second, etc., appear in the manuscript as Roman numerals. The manuscript indicates no gap after line 2.

  1. ↑ The sending of a root with runes written thereon was an excellent way of causing death. So died the Icelandic hero Grettir the Strong.

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