Famulus: An assistant, especially to a magician or scholar.

Oh, when?
When the orange, curling sparks
Shrink low beneath the pot,
When the corner-shadows outweigh
The light of the flames,
But still embrace the heat

Oh, when?
When the pointed hat lies upon the desk
When the pointed head lies upon the pillow
When the cloak lies upon the chair
And the tome lies open upon the desk

Oh, when?
When it is sure that even the mouse
Will not give me away in its squeaks
When the spying cat's eyes are closed
And its deep rumbling purr assures
That its ears are likewise shut

Oh, when?
When the air stirs from the tips
Of the forked branch in my hand,
When no blood need be fed to the ground
Before it loosens its hold on reality
And possibility fills the rift
Between what we see and what we know

Oh, but
My mutterings have pitched too high
My chanting too regular...
And I seem to have added the wrong one,
The foul-smelling one, the dark vial
To the mix instead of the opalescent one.

Merlin returns from dreams to the scent, the noise,
and again it's too late to hide my work
and again I'll have to get used to
All that hopping, but
I'll be damned if I eat another fly.