Departs shortly before poet (5)
I believe the answer is:
dante
'poet' is the definition.
(13th- and 14th-century Italian poet)
'departs shortly before' is the wordplay.
'departs shortly' becomes 'd' (common abbreviation e.g. train timetables; 'shortly' indicates an abbreviation).
'before' becomes 'ante' (I've seen this before).
'd'+'ante'='DANTE'
(Other definitions for dante that I've seen before include "Poet inspired by Beatrice" , "Inferno poet" , "Thirteenth-fourteenth century Italian poet" , "Thirteenth to fourteenth century Italian poet" , "La divina commedia poet" .)