Three Poems by Maya Williams
Editor’s Formatting Note: Each of Maya Williams’ poems appear in JPEG form first, to preserve the poet’s vision. For accessibility purposes, we have included the live text, sans formatting, below the images.
Poem 1:
What Iliza is Trying to say to Black Women
this is an erasure of comedian Iliza Shlesinger’s Netflix Special Confirmed Kills (2016)
look to achieve
socially acceptable, attractive, grown
white
white is great.
please don’t get
Black
[cheering]
tell a sister
[cheering]
rattle her Be like, “I don’t like
you
[applause]
Poem 2:
What Iliza is Trying to say to Black Folks Like Me
this is an erasure of comedian Iliza Shlesinger’s Netflix Special Confirmed Kills (2016)
die
die
Kill yourself.
you
don’t have a fire in
You
get out
You know
something isn’t working.
I dare you.
Poem 3:
Accessibility note for screen-reader users: In the following, seventeen line erasure poem, most of the text is blacked out. Lines that are mostly blacked out with one or a couple words remaining, are illustrated by including only the remaining text. Lines that are completely blacked out are indicated by the phrase “blackout.”
What Iliza is Trying to say About Black Lives Matter in Three Tries
this is an erasure of comedian Iliza Shlesinger’s Netflix Special Confirmed Kills (2016)
Nope!
blackout
blackout
*CANCELED*
blackout
—
Losing to
the endless
wokeness
blackout
blackout
—
blackout
blackout
blackout
blackout
I’ve always been woke though.
Should any screen reader users identify an issue with our formatting solution, please email our managing editor, Ryan-Ashley at editors (at) poolpartymag.com to share your experience.
- Three Poems by Maya Williams - September 24, 2026
* This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are producs of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to real events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
