Ask humbly and gently to have something to write with (5)
I believe the answer is:
plead
'ask' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'humbly and gently to have something to write with' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'gently' could be 'p' (musical abbreviation for 'piano', softly) and 'p' is present in the answer.
'have' could be 'lead' (leading is a kind of having) and 'lead' is found within the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for plead that I've seen before include "Claim; entreat" , "Beg or petition" , "Present an argument in court" , "Implore, entreat" , "Sue" .)