Shame about poles attached to cord being bent (10)
I believe the answer is:
propensity
'being bent' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'shame about poles attached to cord' is the wordplay.
'shame' becomes 'pity' ('pity' can be a synonym of 'shame').
'about' is an insertion indicator.
'poles' becomes 'ns' (North and South poles).
'attached to' says to put letters next to each other.
'cord' becomes 'rope' (rope is a kind of cord**).
'ns' after 'rope' is 'ropens'.
'pity' enclosing 'ropens' is 'PROPENSITY'.
(Other definitions for propensity that I've seen before include "Bent" , "Inclination; tendency" .)