Deaf LGBTQIA (Malaysia)

We are Anthony (he/him), Velma (he/him), Banderas (he/him), Eddy (he/him), Riana (she/her), Dino (he/him) and Alex (he/him). All of us are Deaf persons.
Each of us has a unique personality. Most of us are not fluent in Malay and English. We communicate in Malaysian Sign Language (BIM) on a daily basis. BIM is just like any languages you know. BIM is not an art, but a language. BIM is a visual language, but not Visual Vernacular. BIM cannot be expressed through writing or speaking, however, BIM can be a translation of any other spoken or written languages or vice versa. BIM or other sign languages have been misunderstood that each sord (sign word) represents each written/spoken word.
BIM literature, which includes ABC stories, number stories, classifiers stories, handshapes stories, narratives and BIM poetry, has not been a part of Deaf culture in Malaysia yet. This is our first time attempting to invent a BIM poetry. The process was very interesting. The poetry was written in English first, instead of BIM, based on our personal experience as a Deaf LGBTIQ. The poetry was then translated into BIM and Visual Vernacular, which combines strong movement, iconic BIM sords, with gestures and facial expressions, to articulate the poetry. The poetry was magnified when we blacken everything so that the focus would be on our facial expressions and beautiful hand movements. We hope the focus will enable the audience to sense our music.