Soul, take thy risk — Slavery

Soul has the definition of slave, and in Dickinson's time, slaves who tried to find themselves risked their lives.

Soul, take thy risk.
With Death to be
Were better than be not
With thee

(F.1136/J.1151)

[1] Soul:: a serf, slave _{(OED n. 13d)}. risk:: the risk to fight for freedom.
[2] With Death to be:: with the risk of death; people die eventually.
[3, 4] be not with thee:: it's better to risk than not to be oneself.