Read "Nirvana" at The Eldritch Dark:
This early poem by Clark Ashton Smith (CAS) reminds me of "Retrospect And Forecast", another of his poems that was included in his first published collection (The Star-Treader and Other Poems(1912)). "Retrospect And Forecast" addressed the personification of Death, while this present poem speaks of "the vampire-lips of Sleep" and presents a vista of cosmic imagery that CAS often wove into his verses.
In general, "Nirvana" strikes as a somewhat unexceptional item from the oeuvre of CAS, primarily because he handled similar themes with greater power in other of his poems.
In general, "Nirvana" strikes as a somewhat unexceptional item from the oeuvre of CAS, primarily because he handled similar themes with greater power in other of his poems.