The Eckleburg Project

Texas A&M's Official Literary Journal

The Eckleburg Project is the official undergraduate literary journal of Texas A&M University. We are an undergraduate organization featuring student poetry, prose, and art. Now with thirteen issues under our belt, we started with the idea that art should be free and easily accessible to the community.

Our staff is composed of undergraduate students and editors who select pieces to be published semesterly under a process of blind review. For information on how to join, go to our apply page. For information on how to submit, go to our submissions page. For general inquiries, or just to say hello, contact our organizational email at theeckleburgproject@gmail.com.

As always, we thank you for your support as we continue to foster art here at Texas A&M.

asterisks by Vianney Wallace

October 16, 2020  /  The Eckleburg Project

  your concept of love comes with a bundle of red tape

a rule book filled with regulations

fine print, tiny print, endless endnotes

        and so many damn asterisks

i jump through one too many hoops

proving to you, proving to me

that i belong in this world

loving with welcoming hands, hands that are free

they tell me keep loving but not in that way

call me unnatural, impure

but better to love too much than not enough

 open arms though I'm unsure

abnormal, unwanted, invalid love

they say i'm confused, a little lost

wonder how long this phase will last

bar the way home with arms crossed

my voice shakes but i hold my head high

try to take back control, steady my hand

i let my heart break but only hoping

that one day you'll understand 

i curl up with shame and guilt sometimes

proving to you, proving to me

that these feelings don't belong

that this love was never meant to be

i never meant to unsettle, rock your world

but i keep my heart open, baring my chest

trying to live and love in a place

with no stipulations*,

* no asterisks   

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