  We report complex plasma experiments, assisted by numerical simulations,
providing an alternative qualitative link between the macroscopic response of
polycrystalline solid matter to small shearing forces and the possible
underlying microscopic processes. In the stationary creep regime we have
determined the exponents of the shear rate dependence of the shear stress and
defect density, being $\alpha = 1.15 \pm 0.1$ and $\beta = 2.4 \pm 0.4$,
respectively. We show that the formation and rapid glide motion of dislocation
pairs in the lattice are dominant processes.
