Figures to accept a poem as perfect (5)
I believe the answer is:
model
'perfect' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'figures to accept a poem' is the wordplay.
'figures' becomes 'ml' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'to accept' is an insertion indicator.
'a poem' becomes 'ode' (ode is a type of poem).
'ml' enclosing 'ode' is 'MODEL'.
'as' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for model that I've seen before include "Pose" , "Possibly the last" , "Poser for painter or photographer" , "She saunters on the catwalk" , "Small-scale representation" .)