Lively piece of satire it’s hard to follow (8)
I believe the answer is:
skittish
'lively' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'piece of satire it's hard to follow' is the wordplay.
'piece of satire' becomes 'skit' (a skit is a satirical comedy sketch).
'it's' becomes ''tis' (I've seen this before).
'hard' becomes 'h' (abbreviation used in pencil classifications).
'to follow' means one lot of letters go next to another (some letters go after or follow others).
'skit'+'tis'+'h'='SKITTISH'
(Other definitions for skittish that I've seen before include "Playful, hard to control" , "Frivolous" , "Frisky or mettlesome" , "Playful - lively - unpredictable" , "(Of horses) excessively lively" .)