Gutless deputy in bad poem (5)
I believe the answer is:
idyll
'poem' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'gutless deputy in bad' is the wordplay.
'gutless' suggests removing the centre.
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'bad' becomes 'ill' ('ill' can be similar in meaning to 'bad').
'deputy' with its middle taken out is 'dy'.
'dy' going into 'ill' is 'IDYLL'.
(Other definitions for idyll that I've seen before include "Pictorial poem" , "Scene of happy innocence" , "Quiet period" , "Charming life in the country" , "Idealised prose" .)