The Anatomy Of The Universal Man (Man Or Renaissance Man?)

"Why be just a man  
when you can be a universal man"
said the teacher  
to the irrepressible young student  
sitting before him.
 
"I defy that statement"  
as i found myself standing.
I have never been what you call a achiever
sure, i get by  
and sometimes i do excel at random tasks
i learn pretty quickly.
Do i qualify?
 
The last day of school term
the end of term pop quiz
i was the zen master,  
like cane out of kung-fu  
but with more hair.
That was my moment
my achievement.
a little piece of fortune and glory
that i wore round my neck
like a badge of honor
this kid did good.
 
Sometimes people would think  
i was unsociable
like i was having some sort of  
private cosmic joke  
and they were not included.
i wasn't thinking i was better  
then them or anything
i was just socially awkward
do i qualify?
 
my curiosity  
takes me to unknown places
to the dark places that lurk
in the back of the mind
i would hate to know everything
i feel its what we don't know  
that defines us.
man kind just doesn't have
the capacity for universal knowledge
so the very idea of the universal man
is null and void.
 
we learn everyday
and personally  
i know more now  
then i ever did before
i read books
i traveled,  
i learned through people and places
i lived through there eyes  
and there experience
do i qualify?
 
I think not  
but in conclusion
i put it to you,
Why would i want to be a polymath
why would i want to be a universal man  
when i can be just a man.
Because just being a man is good enough.