The Emerald beckons you to come near,

Glides and winds through the Tree,

Flashes her silver scales and masks her underbelly of grime.

She whispers in your ear

Lullabies of fortune, admiration.

"Join me," she coos,

And vanishes with a flicker.

You chase her reveries by day, she promises your dreams by night,

The validation of the Emerald is motivational, sensational.

She's glorified in the highest,

They invest and exchange for a single taste,

A moonlight escapade taunts their wildest of dreams,

But none surpass your velvet nights.

You wear her skin like valued stock,

Concealing your swampy stain.

You venture further,

Skin on skin.

She parts her lips to laugh,

Tosses her head back,

Flicks her forked tongue,

"I'm all you need," she sings,

And you stretch your arm out to toast a glass.

You revel in prosperity, bathe in prestige,

Utterly entranced by corporate menagerie.

Your eyes see optical illusions,

Paralyzed by lust,

Poisoned by ambition,

But you press deeper,

Closer to the Emerald,

She is electric,

You crave her, you need her.

She coils around you,

Her teeth sink into your lip,

You exhale and flutter your eyes closed,

Blind to the fate that you manifested into your own.

She pulls you tight like her corset,

Sucking your breath and respiring it into air,

And ensnares her venom into your flesh.