A Prayer for Us
our song is sung to the eastern mountain
our refrain remains inside a newborn
in spring chirping flickers push the quiet song
and we belong among the morning air
our song is sung toward the southern mountain
our youth in playful poise levels the afternoon
and heightens the yellow grasses, our children
build the frames of arbors holding the trees together
our song is sung to the western mountain
our drumbeat demands the consent of ancient
elders reflecting the knowledge and holding better
ways of life that carve the strength in our voices
our song is sung to the northern mountain
our cries echo through the looming slow fog
and waiting in valleys is the ash spreading
on frozen ground to muffle the somber sighs
- and heavy sounds
Crisosto Apache is originally from Mescalero, New Mexico, on the Mescalero Apache Reservation, and now lives in the Denver metro area. They are Mescalero Apache, Chiricahua Apache, and Diné (Navajo) of the 'Áshįįhí (Salt Clan), born for the Kinyaa'áanii (Towering House Clan). Apache holds an MFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe and serves as Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design.
In January 2026, Apache was named Colorado's 11th Poet Laureate, the first Indigenous poet to hold the position. Their poetry includes Genesis (Lost Alphabet), Ghostword (Gnashing Teeth Publication), winner of the 2023 Betty Berzon Emerging Writers Award and a finalist for the Colorado Authors League Award, and their newest collection, is(ness) (Gnashing Teeth, 2025). A three-time Pushcart Prize nominee, Apache is also an editor-at-large for The Offing. Alongside their writing, Apache continues advocacy work for Native American Indigenous LGBTQ / Two-Spirit identity and remains dedicated to bringing poetry to young people.
ForLines of Continuance, Apache contributes a poem read in their own voice, offering language as another form of presence and place within the exhibition.
Crisosto Apache
