to risk one's significance

[IQU3838]

Hi,

Here is a poem, in which I don't understand a sentence (underlined part), could anyone help me?

Thanks for your kind help.


"I will not die an unlived life.
I will not live in fear
of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
to allow my living to open me,
to make me less afraid,
more accessible;
to loosen my heart
until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance,
to live so that which came to me as seed
goes to the next as blossom,
and that which came to me as blossom,
goes on as fruit."

— Dawna Markova

What does "to risk my significance" mean?

Thank you for the answer.

 

[freezeframe]

Hi,

Here is a poem, in which I don't understand a sentence (underlined part), could anyone help me?

Thanks for your kind help.


"I will not die an unlived life.
I will not live in fear
of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
to allow my living to open me,
to make me less afraid,
more accessible;
to loosen my heart
until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance,
to live so that which came to me as seed
goes to the next as blossom,
and that which came to me as blossom,
goes on as fruit."

— Dawna Markova

What does "to risk my significance" mean?

Thank you for the answer.

I assume she means significance as "importance" or "self-importance". She's saying she'll take what comes to her and make it better for the next person. I guess she's saying she'll be humble.

General comment: In poetry, language is used differently than it is in other types of writing/speech. Its language is often highly metaphoric and sometimes particular to the poet. All of this is to say that if you're learning English, be careful with learning from poetry.