Poet penniless on drug reportedly; this might mask the smell (9)
I believe the answer is:
potpourri
'mask the smell' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both man-made objects as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe you can see an association between them that I can't see?
'poet penniless on drug reportedly this might' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'drug' could be 'pot' (slang term for cannabis) and 'pot' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for potpourri that I've seen before include "Scented petals and spices" , "assortment of botanical stuff?" , "Pleasant-smelling mixture" , "Perfumed mixture; medley" , "leaves, petals etc." .)