Cleopatra

Read "Cleopatra" at The Eldritch Dark:

http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/poetry/94/cleopatra

As with many poems from Clark Ashton Smith (CAS), "Cleopatra" contains references to classical mythology, exotic precious stones, and evocative images of bold colors.  Although these foundational elements are frequently used in other verses from CAS, in this particular case, the work seems unable to transcend those building blocks and emerge as a true poetic expression.  

This is one of the rare cases where I feel like I'm reading CAS on auto-pilot, with plenty of poetic technique in evidence, but with only marginal artistic results.