One of the pavilions 
which seem to float on pillars 

           above rock piles and fish ponds 
in Old Shanghai’s Yu Garden 

           is home to a chair 
made of cypress root –

           a massive, gnarled jumble 
pulled up from the ground as a single piece
hundreds of years after the tree sprouted 

           then crafted into seat and legs, 
forming a place where one can sit
that keeps you close to earth’s embrace.