diff --git a/util/epist/screen.cc b/util/epist/screen.cc
index 1dc32f02..0ec679bb 100644
--- a/util/epist/screen.cc
+++ b/util/epist/screen.cc
@@ -490,8 +490,6 @@ void screen::cycleWindow(const bool forward, const bool allscreens,
         target = begin;
       } else {
         ++target;
-        if (target == end)
-          target = begin;
       }
     } else {
       if (target == begin)
@@ -503,6 +501,10 @@ void screen::cycleWindow(const bool forward, const bool allscreens,
     if (target == _active)
       return;
 
+    // start back at the beginning of the loop
+    if (target == end)
+      continue;
+
     // determine if this window is invalid for cycling to
     const XWindow *t = *target;
     if (t->iconic()) continue;