The Art of the Mono-rhyme: Behind the Scenes of ‘The Toucan Poem’

The ‘Toucan Poem’—as most people call it, mainly because almost no one has ever managed to recite the full title correctly on the first go—is easily one of my favourite pieces to perform. Its official name, for those feeling brave, is “If a Toucan Who can Cancan, can Cancan With a Crow.” Try saying that three times fast after a glass of Highland mist.

A Lockdown Challenge

I wrote this particular piece during the lockdown of 2020. Like many of us, I found myself looking for ways to stay creative within four walls. I initially challenged myself to write a poem that repeated the same word as many times as humanly possible. However, before I even put pen to paper (the stationery was far too nice to waste on a bad idea), I pivoted. I decided instead to focus on repeating the same syllable.

I think I rather nailed the brief with the title alone—six consecutive “can” syllables in a single line. Once I had that rhythm locked in, the rest of the story simply started to flow.

The Mystery of the Mono-rhyme

I was about two-thirds of the way through the draft when I realized I had accidentally stumbled into a mono-rhyme. For the uninitiated, a mono-rhyme is a poem where every single couplet ends with the exact same sound. In this case, I was tethered to the “O” sound: Crow, Show, No, Go, Low, Slow, Row.

As I neared the finish line, I felt it wasn’t quite “Sam Steele” enough—it wasn’t complicated enough! To up the ante, I decided to squeeze a tin can into the act. This forced the final verse to expand to six lines just to fit every word into the meter. Result!!!

From the Page to the Stage

Initially, I was convinced I would never actually be able to learn it by heart. It felt like a linguistic mountain. But through sheer repetition, the “can-can” rhythm eventually found its home in my memory.

Now, this is almost always the poem I choose to recite when I’m at a new venue. It serves as a perfect introduction to my work; it lets the audience know that I am a rhyming poet who doesn’t take himself too seriously and that I’m here, first and foremost, to entertain.

The Edinburgh Fringe Effect

I had the absolute joy of performing this piece twice at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2025. For the two days following the show, I had people wandering up to me in the street saying, “Hey! You’re the guy who does The Toucan Poem!” Well, to be honest, they usually mashed up the title into something like, “The Toucan did a can with a can and a bow,” but I knew exactly what they meant. It’s a wonderful feeling when a few silly syllables can stick in someone’s mind like that. Oh Boy!!!

Explore the Collection: If you enjoy these kinds of rhythmic adventures, you can find more of my work, including Luno and Rupert, over in my book section.