Left poems by traitor about guiding light (8)

I believe the answer is:

lodestar

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'guiding light' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'left poems by traitor' is the wordplay.
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'poems' becomes 'odes' (ode is a kind of poem).
'by traitor' becomes 'tar' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'l'+'odes'+'tar'='LODESTAR'

'about' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for lodestar that I've seen before include "Travel guide" , "In navigation, celestial reference point" , "Guiding light; leotards (anag.)" , "Guiding light in sky" , "Guiding principle" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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