diff --git a/bar.c b/bar.c
index 365a7d4..d7a510e 100644
--- a/bar.c
+++ b/bar.c
@@ -602,7 +602,8 @@ parse (char *text)
         if (*p == '\0' || *p == '\n')
 			break;
 
-        if (*p == '%' && p++ && *p == '{' && (block_end = strchr(p++, '}'))) {
+        if (*p == '%' && *(p+1) == '{' && (block_end = strchr(p+2, '}'))) {
+            p += 2;
             while (p < block_end) {
                 while (isspace(*p))
                     p++;