Most poetry is absorbed in certain defeat (8)

I believe the answer is:

reversal

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'defeat' is the definition.
(reversal is a kind of defeat)

'most poetry is absorbed in certain' is the wordplay.
'most' means to remove the last letter.
'poetry' becomes 'verse' (synonyms).
'is absorbed' is an insertion indicator.
'in certain' becomes 'real' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'verse' with its final letter taken off is 'vers'.
'vers' going into 'real' is 'REVERSAL'.

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(Other definitions for reversal that I've seen before include "About-turn" , "Volte-face" , "U-turn" , "Change of fortune" , "switch" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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