It's awfully easy to hold a pole. Try! (5)
I believe the answer is:
essay
'try' is the definition.
(essay can mean to try or attempt something)
'it's awfully easy to hold a pole' is the wordplay.
'it's awfully' indicates anagramming the letters.
'to hold' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'a pole' becomes 's' (abbreviation for South, as in South Pole).
'easy' with letters rearranged gives 'esay'.
'esay' placed around 's' is 'ESSAY'.
(Other definitions for essay that I've seen before include "Attempt - piece of writing" , "What may be written in exam" , "School composition" , "Try - composition" , "Short treatise" .)