The first step is to create a decorative boarder for your poem.  XCS has several really good boarders that you can use.  Alternately you can import an SVG of your own.  

Depending on the length of your poem you may need to resize the boarder accordingly.  I decided to shoot for just under 8 inches to be close to the size of a sheet of paper.

Now let's add an outline. This will be used as the vector to cut out around the edge of the boarder.  I used the defaults. 

Next, let's move the outline to a different layer.  When you do this, you will see that there are several small shapes inside the outer perimeter that will get cut out.  We need to fill in the inside of the shape.  By moving it to another layer, we can now hide the blue layer, which hides the boarder design. 

With the boarder design hidden, we can safely add in rectangles to fill in the inside of our outline.   As you draw rectangles over this area, select the outline and the rectangle and use the combine tool to unite these parts.  

Now let's unhide the boarder and you should see a similar design to what I have in the images.

Now we can add in the poem for the design.  You will need to size and adjust as necessary to fit inside the boarder.  Also you can change the font to whatever you like.  I have used the dancing script for this project. 

There are three main processes for this project.  Engraving the text, cutting the outline and scoring the boarder.  

The project is now ready for the laser.  Be sure to follow the safety rules that go with your laser.  Always wear personal protective equipment when using your laser.  This project could be stained or just add shellac.