Thich Nhat Hanh - Poem

Hello Glowforge Family!

Right after I received my Glowforge, I was reading, Being Peace, by Thich Nhat Hanh. There was a poem he included that struck me so deeply, that I wanted to read it daily. So I took a piece of 3/4" walnut I had lying around, routed the edges, etched an ohm symbol, and attached a 1/4" clear piece of acrylic to it. Maybe it will spark something inside of you as well. The poem reads:

I shall say that I want it all.
If you ask me how much I want,
I shall tell you that I want it all.
You and I and everyone are flowing this morning
Into the marvelous stream of oneness.
Small pieces of imagination as we are,
We have come a long way to find ourselves,
And for ourselves in the dark,
The illusion of emancipation.

This morning my brother is back from his long adventure.
He kneels before the altar and his eyes are filled with tears.
His soul is looking for a shore to put an anchar,
My own image of long ago.
Let him kneel there and weep,
Let him cry his heart out.
Let him have his refuge for a thousand years.
Enough to dry all his tears.

Because one of these nights I shall come.
I have to come and set fire to this small cottage of his on a hill.
his last shelter.
My fire will destroy,
Destroy everything.
Taking away from him the only life raft he has, after a shipwreck.
In the utmost anguish of his soul,
The shell will break.
The light of the burning hut will witness, gloriously, his deliverance.
I will wait for him beside the burning cottage,
Tears will run down my cheeks.
I shall be there to contemplate his new existence,
And hold his hands in mine,
And ask him how much he would want.
He will smile at me and say that he wants it all.
Just as I did.

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Looks really nice.

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I very much like the way you did this…early on, I decided I wanted to do a long poem on my Glowforge but didn’t want to just engrave it on a piece of wood, and never figured out a way that I would like better, so soon abandoned it for other projects. Thank you for sharing this, it may inspire me to go back to that.

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It took me a little while to figure out how to do it, but I think it turned out pretty well also! Glad you enjoy it and hopefully it did inspire you!

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Nice! The standoffs give it such a professional finish.

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Thanks @ptodd!

Love the unique simplicity. A beautiful way to add levels to the presentation of the poem

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Great poem from a great-souled person! Nice work. I do need to get some of these standoffs. The Glowforge definitely encourages desire and attachment!

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Thanks @Facio-Ergo-Sum! I thought so as well!

I love reading his stuff! It does encourage the desire and attachment though, but also allows me to get rid of things, because I can always make them again… and better!