ok, I've got it:

Life is a poker game.

We all keep our hands close to our chests, never letting anybody else really know what we have.

And intimacy is another one of those false ideas that says that we can let somebody close enough to see how we're really feeling about things.

This is cutting too close to the bone. Stopping now.

Maybe I'll revert to the old favorite method, thinking in terms of song lyrics (from The Gambler):

You got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run

You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealin's done.