The original question--about what the verse form is called: I've forgotten most of what I once know about poetry, but I do recognize the abba verse form as the basis for the Petrarchan or Italian sonnet form (as opposed to the Shakesperean form). It was favored by, among others, John Donne and John Milton. For example, Milton's "On His Blindness," which begins:

When I consider how my light is spent,
E're half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide,
Lodg'd with me useless, though my Soul more bent...

Beats Wilcox, doesn't it?