Hi, it's Sarah Kay here.

You're about to hear a talk and some poetry by me, recorded at TED 2011.

I hope you enjoy it.

I also have some exciting news.

I'm the new host of another podcast from TED called Sincerely X.

Each episode features powerful ideas and stories from anonymous guests.

Hear from a former cult member rewriting the script of her life,

or a woman who unearths a hard truth about her birth father through DNA technology,

and a lot more.

You can hear Sincerely X on the Luminary podcast app. Find out more at

luminary.com slash TED. That's luminary.com slash T-E-D. Thanks for listening.

If I should have a daughter, instead of mom, she's going to call me point B.

Because that way she knows that no matter what happens, at least she can always find her way to me.

And I'm going to paint the solar systems on the backs of her hands.

So she has to learn the entire universe before she can say, oh, I know that like the back

of my hand. And she's going to learn that this life will hit you hard in the face, wait for you

to get back up just so it can kick you in the stomach. But getting the wind knocked out of you

is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air. There is hurt here that cannot be

fixed by band-aids or poetry. So the first time she realizes that Wonder Woman isn't coming,

I'll make sure she knows she doesn't have to wear the cape all by herself. Because no matter how

wide you stretch your fingers, your hands will always be too small to catch all the pain you want to heal. Believe me,

I've tried. And baby, I'll tell her, don't keep your nose up in the air like that. I know that

...