I like the theme and wisdom of this one and it rhymes very well, I also like the title.

( just my opinion ) but I would drop the the's in the first stanza/

Hell and heaven aren't the same,
one's cool, the other burns in shame.
Heaven's faces grin with smiles,
while sinful souls in hell are piles.

But it's your poem and I'm no expert so it's down to you.

Well done! nice write!

Love Mand xxxxxx

Ail or treasure - do you mean ale as in beer or to ail as in sicken? Nuff said. Next. Mand go to the most obvious before me. The hell with it all I'm off to Heaven for a good dance.
Jimm

You have touched upon a very intriguing subject / thought "Heaven or Hell". I say intriguing because it's an unknown place for the living. Yet, you have a good message, sort of set an alarm for those who would prefer the make believe Heaven or for even those who dread the make believe Hell.

perhaps you may want to consider a suggestion
changing the line from

the roads you walk shall always measure
to
the roads you walk shall lead to

...raj

I liked this poem. It reminded me of my own Catholic theology on Hell and Heaven. I liked the meter, except when it got to the final couplet.

The change made the rhyme look forced, but it's just my opinion. It's a short, to-the-point poem.

Because I have decided to edit out all my contentious comments.
I decided that the piece was proselytising, which I find unacceptable, but as has been pointed out to me, that is just my opinion, not a fact, and certainly not something I should make a personal crusade.

.

you loose,...!
shouldn't it be better if you say
lose

as loose
is loose

As far as the content of the poem: I do see it as more of a presentation of your beliefs than proselytizing, but I can also see how Jess interprets it as proselytizing. Because the poem only presents the dichotomy of Heaven and Hell (and no other choice but those two) and includes "you" and "yours", readers may think you want them to believe the way you do because you present your beliefs as absolute Truth.

I did not read the poem this way. I disagree with the beliefs in the poem, but I will fight for anyone's right to believe the way the poem presents. Jess believes that only a coward would accept these beliefs. Or he may even that cowards don't deserve peace of mind. I don't. (If you argue that only cowards do certain things, the underlying warrant of that argument is that being a coward is bad, or that cowards are bad people. Thus telling someone that cowards do certain things should keep them from doing those things).

There are many people in my life who have survived horrors and critical thinking brought them to believe in God after the fact. Jess may think only people who are afraid to face horrors in their life will put faith in God to protect them. Or that only people who want reward for enduring terrible circumstances with put their faith in God. I have seen the opposite. I have seen people that care so little about themselves they would rather be abused all their life than seek safety. They turned to religion for solace, but they still think so terribly of themselves; they know for certain they will go to Hell because of bad things they believed they have done. They neither expect reward of Heaven, nor except God to protect them, but they still believe he exists and do everything they can to be good and faithful (sort of like Job in the Qur'an).

Also, I think cowardice is as cowardice does (I just watched Forrest Gump last night for the first time in over a decade, had to make a reference!). Cowards can choose religion because they want positive consequences for their actions when it comes to eternal reward/damnation. At the same time, cowards can choose atheism if they don't want to face any consequences for their actions. If they don't believe in heaven or hell, they don't have to worry about being good/bad because it won't matter when it comes to eternal reward/damnation.

With all that in mind, Jess may have liked to suggest different wording in the poem that would reduce the proselytizing feeling. Eliminating the "you" aspect of the poem could do this. The title could be "The Choice is Mine", for instance, and similar changes could be made to the second stanza so that it is clear that these are Rula's beliefs, but she does not intend to force others to believe the way she does. I support these suggestions.

As for the mechanics of the poem, I only have a few small ones:

First, I think the line "the heaven's faces grin with smiles," is a little awkward because of "grins with smiles". I think something like "Heaven's faces are bright with smiles" or something similar could work if you decide to change it.

Next, just like Loved said, on stanza two line two, it should be "lose" (English is crazy: loose does not actually rhyme with choose).

Last, "lead" and "tread" don't actually rhyme either (when lead means to lead someone or to lead your life, but the metal lead does rhyme with tread)! Now, this works fine if you are content with "eye rhyme", where the spellings look alike but the words are pronounced differently, but I don't think you are because it doesn't come up anywhere else in the poem.

I will try to give you a specific suggestion for fixing these lines, if you don't want eye rhyme:

"the mortal life I choose to keep
ends in judgement justly reaped"

It's definitely not perfect, and probably doesn't even fit your meter, but I included my suggestion about eliminating the "you" and hope it inspires you to make your own better fitting revision. I think the poem is succinct and worth your attention.

PS: I especially enjoyed the line "while sinful souls in hell are piles" . We always see painting that present Hell this way, but I don't think I've ever seen a poem successfully write it this way.

but you know what makes me giggle, despite all your reason and compassion?
The line
"while sinful souls in hell are piles"
makes me think that hell is terrible hemorrhoids.

I haven't joined in the discussion on this poem Rula before this, as it to me is a minefield.
You can, as your beliefs dictate make a suggestion of Heaven and Hell and the choices that we can make, this is your poem and it is as stated no matter if we agree with the content or not.
Now what it does is stirs the emotions of all types of believers, or those that don't believe, then they lose sight of the poems structure and of course your theme which in this case is yours alone.
.
the roads you take shall always lead
to eternal life you loved to tread.

Here on these two lines you lose the rhyme,

Lead (Leed):- to go ahead of others that follow.
Led
Example sentences
Its paths led to sculpture gardens and satellite patios tucked beneath shade
Offering the boys gifts of ribbon, he eased their fears and was soon led to the
She led the day's ceremony as a gesture of reconciliation.
The stress he laid on experience in the growth of mind led him to magnify,
.
Therefore one of the lines has to change..
.
the roads you take has always led
to the eternal life you loved to tread.

As to all the other views I shall keep my own council,
Yours with unconditional love, Ian.T

In order to be guilty of what Jess claims, a poem or any other written statement must concern a Particular religion. Heaven and hell are in so many different religions that simply referring to them does not delineate a particular religion. This poem could be about Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Christianity, Mormanism and probably a bunch of isms I can think of at the moment. We all know Rula is an Islamic believer but nowhere in the poem is that particular belief mentioned.
As to the poem itself I agree the line with "piles" in it seems a bit awkward . But forcing rhyme is pretty common for a free verser who is trying to navigate in western classic.............stan

Despite all that's been said, the poem has merit in and of itself, never lose sight of that! If you care enough about the concept of written art to carry on its traditions, then you are a much better person than any of your critics, regardless of their education or lack of same!

try a change in the line instead of word. Something like : in hell lost souls are strewn in piles. Sometimes a line must be changed(while still keeping its content) in order to smooth out rhymes............stan

Different people have different views. Can't really control how people will react to what we write. Sometimes being too sensitive or misunderstanding can make a poem critic lose the ability to see the art in that particular poem itself. This is only a suggestion.Perhaps replacing 'you' with 'we' and 'yours' with 'ours" might help. it makes it in more general term as in "we" as all human beings.
As for the rest i think it ts all good...

Alid