At the symbolic level, therefore, the child represents human beings who are like Adam in the mistakes they go on making and the knowledge they go on achieving. So the addressee (you) of the poem must be Christ or God. The familiarity of the subject matter and imagery tells us that we repeat mistakes of the same kind even in ordinary life and conditions. - See more at: http://www.bachelorandmaster.com/britishandamericanpoetry/this-is-just-to-say.html#.VXmaW_mqqko