I want to cut me a path through life’s forest
Accepting its gauntlet in my hands, thrust
I want firsthand experience, raw, at its barest
Standing firm and erect on my own, boldest

Living in the other shadows is easy, secure
Will give taste of life, only secondhand, a bore
I want to turn gray in the sun by myself n more
Spurning constant spoon feeding, that I abhor

Choosing a path full of roses is easy and wise
Yet I wonder if that’s where my happiness lies
Adventurers and seafarers blazed their own paths
Disdaining all well trodden roads and footpaths

The quest of life’s mystery, solving its meaning
Is not for the fainthearted nor for the weakling
It requires iron will, firm resolve and a spirit, willing
I choose this path for myself, all butterflies quelling

Spanning uncharted seas ever canopied by brilliant skies
Traversing virgin regions, finding new peaks each sunrise
Finding lost cities and civilizations that, all mankind, chastise
Relics, treasures proving all is temporary, transient, will demise

 I want to cut me a path through life’s forest
Accepting its gauntlet in my hands, thrust
I want firsthand experience, raw, at its barest
Standing firm and erect on my own, boldest

Yet the true path through the green verdant forest
Is to delve within self, blossoming, becoming richest
Life’s mysteries will then vanish, no matter how deepest
Self enlightenment will dispel dark, shining life the brightest

The best lightning rod for your protection is your own spine.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
1803-1882, American Poet, Essayist

The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm.
Source Unknown

Hardship and opposition are the native soil of manhood and self-reliance.
John Neil

No one can be great, or good, or happy except through the inward efforts of themselves.
Frederick W. Robertson

At the bottom no one in life can help anyone else in life; this one experiences over and over in every conflict and every perplexity: that one is alone. That isn't as bad as it may first appear; and again it is the best thing in life that each should have everything in himself; his fate, his future, his whole expanse and world.
Rainer Maria Rilke
1875-1926, German Poet

More power than all the success slogans ever penned by human hand is the realization for every man that he has but one boss. That boss is the man - he - himself.
Gabriel Heatter
American, Journalist Quotes

another fav forest poem is

 http://binagupta.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/03/garden-of-enchantment.htm

originally published @
www.binaguptapoetry.com