I hesitate to say some poetic lines are wearing (5)
I believe the answer is:
erode
'are wearing' is the definition.
(to erode is to wear down)
'i hesitate to say some poetic lines' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'hesitate' could be 'er' (expression used when hesitating) and 'er' is found in the answer.
'lines' could be 'ode' (I've seen this before) and 'ode' is present in the answer.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for erode that I've seen before include "Become ground down or deteriorate" , "Corrode" , "Gradually wear away" , "Wear away with weather" , "'Deteriorate, wear away (5)'" .)