This poem frames the myth of Sisyphus in the context of the Penrose Steps (the infinite staircase). Specifically, this piece is a symbolic representation of trauma -being “stuck” in the same place and with the same patterns of thoughts and behavior. I use the term “missing stair” to represent this struggle. Our society teaches us to avoid the problem, rather than to fix it. It’s only when someone “trips” and gets hurt, that we are forced to address the issue head on. In this poem, the missing stair has become a familiar part of the trauma experience: the individual has been “down this road” so many times before that it’s become second nature to avoid it. The form of the poem also reflects this. The lines are short with a step-like cadence, but there is a blank space every 12 lines. The first time the reader encounters it, it’s jarring and seems like a mistake. By the second time, it’s a pattern, and by the third, the reader stops attending to it. The last few lines are much more spaced out and show the breaking of the cycle. The subject takes the first few steps towards a new way of being and finds a way off the infinite staircase.