French fry grease, hamburger fat,
Ice cream sweet, soda pop sugar,
The air is bloated with fattening scents.
Workers toil their minutes away,
Cleaning,
Cooking,
Coping.

The first drop of the storm descends
Into their midst.  False smiles plaster on
As they greet the empty stomach.
Empty eyes.

Snarls and barks and growls respond.
More and more enter the store
All demanding for sustenance,
Mouths frothing and slobbering
For triglycerides and sucrose to
Sate their growing gluttony.

Hundreds upon hundreds flood
The counter, demanding
Instant gratification.
Patience grows thin in the air,
Strangled out by the howls of
Orders,
Complaints,
Screaming. 

Food appears, the anger dissipates,
Bared teeth and contorted faces
Waddle to the den with their prize in hand.
Mingling scents replace demands
And quietness descends again. 

Workers toil their minute away.
Cleaning,
Cooking,
Coping.