Ask Baba Yaga: How Can I Get Over A Terrible Boss?

Transcript after the jump.

Dear Baba Yaga,

I had a terrible boss at my last job. Even though I don’t work there anymore, I still get annoyed and angry when I think of her. How do I get over it?

BABA YAGA:

See in yr mind this woman on a ship. With her are all the terrible things she made you do & which you felt ; she is surrounded by chests of drawers, & in every drawer there is the junk of yr knowings of her, strange doorknobs, unseemly pieces of paperscroll, ugly jewels. She is out there alone with this garbage, & she is frightened; the ship is not well made, it is rotten somehows, & she knows it will sink. Now you feel sad for her. & yes, the ship does sink; a storm comes & the ship is ruined, & all the trash & all the woman goes down into the sea & drowns. Now you are almost weeping for this creature. But her death is peaceful in the final moments, & she settles at the bottom of the sea; the baubles of yr old hate settle into the sand around her. The sea & fishlies bare her to the bones; and the baubles say nothing. & all is silent and clean. & you are on land & safe, & yr mind is like the wind over the sea, feeling nothing, washing everything.

Previously: How Can I End An Affair?

Taisia Kitaiskaia is a poet, writer, and Michener Center for Writers fellow. She’s taking questions on behalf of Baba Yaga at [email protected].