Home poetry by sailor (5)
I believe the answer is:
abode
'home' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'poetry by sailor' is the wordplay.
'poetry' becomes 'ode' (I've seen this in other clues).
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'sailor' becomes 'ab' (abbreviation for able seaman).
'ode' put after 'ab' is 'ABODE'.
(Other definitions for abode that I've seen before include "House, home" , "stay" , "Pad" , "Where one lives" , "House made of adobe" .)