3 APRIL 1971, Page 25

Sir: I deplore the fact that Tony Palmer saw fit

to end his com- ments on my poem, 'The Child Speaks'(20March)with a joke about the IRA. The IRA is no joking mat- ter; neither is the sight of children getting 'high' on violence. To any responsible adult the involvement of children in a riot situation is one of the most tragic features of life in our Province today. That is why I wrote the poem.