I am doing a report on a poem, and I reallly need some help?

It always helps to post the poem; however, I see it is a pretty long poem. I would say the tone and diction are kind of related in this poem. The language, although derived from Genesis 1 in the Bible, is more casual and down-to-earth. For example "It is good" in Genesis 1 becomes "That's good!" in the poem, which is much more casual and conversation-like. The theme is the creation of the world from a traditional Christian/Judeo-Christian viewpoint but it adds the idea that the real reason God created the world was because He was lonely. Figurative language includes: hyperbole: exaggeration by saying the darkness was "blacker than a hundred midnights/down in a cypress swamp." I sort of think the line "God spat out the seven seas" is also hyperbole since even a god/God would not be able to make oceans out of saliva. The idea that God could bat his eyes and lightning flashes is another one, etc., although a religious person--and I am one--could say that God has hidden powers we don't comprehend. There is some personification: notably, where it says "the pine tree pointed his finger to the sky" as a pine tree does not literally have a human finger. There is quite a bit of alliteration, where the beginning consonant of words gets repeated: "the g reen g rass sprouted," "s pat out the s even s eas", "f ishes and f owls," "b easts and b irds" and even the previous quote "p ine tree p ointed ." You can probably find some more examples on your own. Musical devices might include phrases which mimic a N egro spiritual, or a song that was sung in the 19th Century. I would say you have "The waters above the earth came down/the cooling waters came down" is like a refrain in a song that gets repeated for emphasis. Hope this helps.