i fall upon the thorns of life i bleed

Question

paraphrase

I think it means to go through a lot of obstacles but fail

Answer 1

Has the speaker failed yet? The obstacles/thorns you have right. That they bruise/make him or her bleed, yes. Life can be hard, but has the speaker failed? I don't know. Think about it.

Answer 2

Here's an interesting interpretation:
http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/can-have-an-explanation-following-lines-oh-lift-me-107773