Poorest born then cark it, existing in the middle (8)

I believe the answer is:

neediest

'poorest' is the definition.
('needy' can be similar in meaning to 'poor')

'born then cark it existing in the middle' is the wordplay.
'born' becomes 'nee' (I've seen this before).
'then' says to put letters next to each other.
'cark it' becomes 'die'.
'in the middle' means to look at the middle letters.
The centre of 'existing' is 'st'.
'nee'+'die'+'st'='NEEDIEST'

(Another definition for neediest that I've seen is " most desperate".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app