Whats the deal with the naked flame on the hand?
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He's imagining hell which he describes as the pain of a burn from a match increased a million times. I guess touching the flame is also his way of trying to get used to it.
It also may be a reference to "Lawrence of Arabia", one of Scorsese's favorites, where Lawrence often touches a match flame saying the trick is "not minding that it hurts".
Holding your hand over a flame is a *beep* parlor trick. Try making it through all twelve of this season's Hallmark Christmas movies. That's my new challenge of "not minding that it hurts". Wish me luck. ;-)
Poets are made by fools like me, but only God can make STD.