Liquid eyes followed
her footsteps
forward.
Accessing
her quaint
pineal gland
was easy.
A smudge in the matrix
no one noticed.
She prayed for knowledge
and wisdom.
But would she complain
about the cost?
He gently probed her mind
before he shook
her world.
Written for dVerse Quadrille #130 where Mish asks us to use the word smudge in a quadrille of exactly 44 words.
The quadrille was also inspired by my reading of Rumi today. He states,
“When someone beats a rug with a stick, he is not beating the rug – his aim is to get rid of the dust. Your inward is full of dust from the veil of ‘I’-ness, and that dust will not leave all at once. With every cruelty and every blow, it departs little by little from the heart’s face, sometimes in sleep and sometimes in wakefulness.”
Tricia Sankey 
Awesome!
Thanks! 💗
You’re welcome!
You’ve outdone yourself!! Flawless write!!
Thanks, Sarika! I enjoyed writing this one! 💗
Wonderful Rumi The Rugbeater analog, Tricia! My hat is off.
Thanks, Ron! 💖
What a revelation this can be but good for her to pray for knowledge and wisdom. The passage from Rumi is food for thought. Thanks for sharing.
Appreciate your comment, Grace! 💝
This is quite beautiful and horrifying in the way to have your mind probed.
Appreciate your comment, Lucy! 💖
yeah… I also kinda felt… horror…
-David
💗👽💗
yes deeply profound … is such an intrusion worth it …
We never think so when suffering, but perhaps afterward we are grateful!
yes I get that point, thanks
A great poem Tricia. I like the idea that dust gets knocked out of us with each blow we encounter. A very interesting concept!
Thanks, Dwight! 💕
I enjoyed reading this poem. Nicely done.
Thanks so much! 💝
I’m not sure whether to sigh in relaxation at the noble patriarch that will fix the smudges through beatings or scream in terror at the gullible soul who allows it. Probably the latter, as a person with serious trust issues. I like Dwight’s idea though, of how life beats the dust out of us (with the hope we survive in the process.)
Excellent and evocative writing, Tricia.
Thanks, Lisa! I think the scary thing is that we don’t have control. It’s always someone else or something else teaching us lessons! 💝
You’re welcome and yes it is, even when it feels like we do.
Oh this was creepy! Could be a scene from a horror sci-fi…great writing!
Thanks! I wanted it creepy and philosophical, both. And in 44 words, haha! A fun challenge!
I think you rose to it!
💓
that’s a good Rumi quote, too, and quite the counterpoint to your menacing quadrille ~
Thanks, M. 💖
felt like a prelude to a haunting but meaningful story, Tricia! i want more 😀
Thanks! It could be an opening! 💓
ditto!
Youch! Infiltrated. Spooky. Beautiful stanzas.
Thanks, appreciate your comment! 💕
I liked your formatting here, it added to the flow of the poem for mem
Thanks for your feedback! 💕
Maybe the only way for most of us is to accept the beating and grow through it. Maybe in the end it will be the one with the stick who stands there knowing nothing
True, unless the one with the stick already took his beating and is paying it forward now. Appreciate your thoughts! ❣️
To me, I envision an alien probing her mind…and just what did he do to shake her world?! Yikes!
I think anything and everything will be done to shake her up, with the hopes it brings knowledge and wisdom, of course. Thanks for reading! 💕
Thought-provoking poem – it made me think how do we decide what price we are willing to pay, is it always worth it?
I was hoping it would make the reader think! Appreciate your comment! 💝
You are most welcome 😊